Senate Speaker Amason Kingi now says the Shakahola cult deaths should serve as a wake-up call to the nation particularly the National Intelligence Service(NIS) and community policing programme.
Kingi, through Twitter on Monday, questioned how the heinous activities that have so far claimed at least 58 lives including children escaped the radar of the government agency.
"What happened in Shakahola is awful. It ought not to have happened but it happened all the same, worse still to very innocent people. How did such a heinous crime, organized and executed over a considerable period, escape the radar of our intelligence system? How did evil of such an astounding magnitude take place without being detected?" Kingi questioned.
Adding;
"How did this ‘pastor’ gather so many people, indoctrinate, brainwash and starve them to death in the name of religion and then buried them in a forest without being detected?"
The former Kilifi governor is calling for answers from security personnel to comprehend the unfortunate incident, saying that while the constitution guarantees the freedom of worship the latter should not allow for freedom of fatal cultism.
"Going forward, we need to be extra vigilant, both as a nation and as individual citizens," Kingi said.
He is now calling for accountability and harsh punishment of the people responsible for the deaths of innocent souls.
"The harshest punishment possible must be meted to those responsible for the deaths of these innocent souls to deter anyone with similar evil pursuits in the name of religion," Kingi said.
STATEMENT ON THE SHAKAHOLA DEATHS pic.twitter.com/Y3iglwsM1D— Rt. Hon. Amason Jeffah Kingi, EGH. (@HonAmasonKingi) April 24, 2023
The Shakahola massacre has exposed the ugly side of abuse of freedom of worship with several leaders including the president condemning the lead pastor of the Good News International Church Paul Mackenzie's awful actions.
So far, 58 bodies have been recovered from Mackenzie's 800-acre land in Malindi, Kilifi County.
This includes people rescued alive but have since succumbed.
At the same time, 29 others are fighting for their lives after allegedly being directed to starve to death.
