Human Rights groups fault gov't over delay in Kwa Binzaro mass grave exhumation

This move has sparked outrage within the human rights movement at the Coast, who fault the government for what they say is the slow pace of action over the deaths.

Three weeks after the discovery of mass graves in KwaBinzaro, near Shakahola, the process of exhuming them is yet to start, despite the Ministry of Interior obtaining the requisite court orders to do so. Human rights activists are now calling out the government over these delays.

“Nothing is happening on the ground, yet we are seeing dogs digging up the bodies, hyenas digging up the bodies—it is very undignified,” said Khalid Hussein of Vocal Africa.

The exhumations were expected to begin today, but that did not happen. Sources indicate that the human and material resources required are yet to be provided. As the families of missing people continue to wait, there are concerns over the outcome of the exhumations, especially the capacity of the storage facility.

The government is yet to complete the identification and disposal of the remains from Shakahola. The Interior CS has, however, hinted at a mass burial for the remains from Shakahola.

“That was not the purpose of exhuming the bodies. The purpose was identifying who these people were so that families can find closure. Any attempt to bury them in a mass grave—we will stop it, we will go to court,” said Walid Skerry of Vocal Africa.

As they wait for the KwaBinzaro exercise to begin, there are also concerns about the process of identifying the remains, especially in light of a scarcity of reagents for DNA testing. Human rights defenders have further raised concerns about the storage capacity at the local mortuary, which has already been overstretched with the Shakahola bodies.

“Kuna shida ya storage pale mili imewekwa na tuko na grief na families that have lost their loved ones, ambao hawajaweza kutoa miili na kupewa. That is the work of government,” said Mathias Shipeta of Haki Africa.