Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung'aro has threatened to dump Shakahola bodies in Nairobi should the national government fail to take responsibility.
The Governor made the remarks at Dagamra in Garashi ward, where government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura and Cabinet Secretary for Gender Aisha Jumwa were in attendance.
The national government's top officials were in the county to deliver food items to the victims of the floods.
“I have a message to you, Isaac Mwaura and Aisha Jumwa, to Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, because you are here on behalf of the national government. In the past year, we lost many people in the Shakahola massacre, and I have two containers at the Malindi Sub-county hospital with 429 bodies.
"Recently, the national government announced it would release the bodies to the respective family members, but only six bodies were picked,” Mung'aro said, as quoted by a local publication.
The governor added that the patients in the Malindi sub-county are affected by the odour coming from the decomposing bodies.
Mung'aro's threats
Mung'aro said that should the national government fail to act, he would haul the bodies to the capital city.
“By Monday next week… I will haul the containers to Nairobi for the national government to preserve the bodies there because we have already borne the foul smell for one year,” he threatened.
The Kilifi County boss added that they have used millions of shillings to take care of the bodies that are preserved in the containers.
“I have used Ksh36 million meant for the people of Kilifi to pay electricity bills for the Shakahola bodies in the containers and bought stuff for workers at the two containers, yet this is a national government matter,” Mung’aro said.
To Mung'aro, his county has been forced to take care of the bodies, whose origin he does not know, and what makes it worse is the fact that help from the national government has not been forthcoming.
“I pay Ksh2.9 million monthly for people whose origins I do not know. I have pleaded for help from Nairobi, through the Mombasa Regional Coordinator, who promised that I would get help in vain,” he concluded.
