Herder recalls stumbling upon a frail man tied to tree in Shakahola

Yussuf Abdi who saved a Paul Makenzi follower who had been tied on a tree to fast. [Marion Kithi, Standard] The herdsman who stumbled upon the first follower of Good News International (GNI) Church inside the Shakahola Forest in Kilifi has revealed that some of the victims were tied to a tree with a rope. Yussuf Abdi said he was grazing his goats inside the forest when he came across a frail man who seemed to be in pain, his hands tied to the trunk of a tree with a rope. "I was herding goats in the thicket sometimes in March when I came across a man tied by the hands on a tree and he looked frail. He told me that he was Paul Makenzi's follower," says Abdi. Mr. Abdi's story is the first account from either a victim or a witness who has come public to give credence to early claims from investigators that some of those who died were forced to fast and die. "I untied him, milked one goat, and gave him milk to drink. He gained some strength and started to signal me, indicating that he was fine," he said, adding that other GNI adherents were roaming free inside the forest. He added that by helping the man, he lost track of his goats, but for him, helping was more important than anything else. "During that time, my goats had grazed deep into the thicket, and I lost track of them. The man could not speak, but he tried to signal me that he was fine and that God should bless me," he added. It was in early March this year when he found the man, only to later discover that many more people in the forest were in a similar state. "I saw many people inside who appeared unhealthy because they were very weak. There was nothing much I could do but to tell my friend who notified the Shakahola people, and that is why the security operation started," he said. Mr Abdi would later migrate with his goats to Timboni area near Baolala in search of pasture due to the drought that was ravaging the area. The 800-acre farm has been sealed off after it was declared a crime scene and only authorised persons are allowed to access it. So far, 235 bodies have been exhumed from the forest, and 613 people still missing. On Thursday, Coast Regional Coordinator Rhoda Onyancha said the recovery operation has been suspended for five days to allow pathologists to conduct the autopsy of 123 bodies exhumed in the second phase of the operation. The second phase of the recovery operation started on Monday after pathologists concluded postmortems on 114 bodies retrieved in the first phase. The autopsies revealed that most victims were starved to death, strangled, or hit on the head by blunt objects. It ruled out the human body organ trade after all body parts were found intact. "The forensic team will take a break from tomorrow to prepare for the postmortem of the 123 bodies exhumed in the second phase of the operation," said Onyancha. She said that the search and rescue operations continue. Meanwhile, the Senate Ad hoc Committee on the Proliferation of Religious Organisations will today tour Makenzi's farm on a fact-finding mission. The 11-member committee led by Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana is trying to establish whether there were any security breaches in the area leading to the deaths. Mr. Mungatana yesterday asked the Communications Authority of Kenya to delete from the internet all traces of Makenzi's teachings. "The longer the teachings continue to circulate on social media platforms, the more many people will be radicalised, so we need to stop this from happening," Mungatana said. He has also disclosed that they are planning to hold a meeting with the CA and agree on the review laws considered before the State issues television licenses.

Herder recalls stumbling upon a frail man tied to tree in Shakahola

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Herder recalls stumbling upon a frail man tied to tree in Shakahola

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