Kindiki tells politicians to keep off Shakola after Raila turned down.

On Sunday, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki told politicians to stay off the Shakola area that has been cordoned off in the wake of a security operation to probe the death of over a hundred members of a suspected cult.

In his directive which came just days after the leader of the opposition, Raila Odinga, was turned away from the forest in Kilifi County, the CS said the only political leaders allowed are members of the parliamentary security committee.

“I allowed the National Assembly Security Committee to access Shakahola because it is a security operation zone and Parliament has a role. The other politicians, keep off. Don’t bring politics to Shakahola,” he said.

Odinga was on Friday denied access to the area, a day before he pledged to move to court to petition President William Ruto’s decision to form a commission of inquiry into the starvation cult.

According to the interior minister, 112 bodies have been exhumed so far and detectives continue combing through the area for more graves on Tuesday.

“So far, 112 bodies have been exhumed and the experts are telling us that we have more graves at Shakahola. On Tuesday, we resume the exhumation process because the weather has improved. These criminals have cost us greatly as a nation,” Prof Kindiki said on Sunday.

“The government has nothing to hide. It doesn’t matter the number of bodies recovered from Shakahola, we will broadcast the truth to the world because we don’t want this tragedy to ever happen again,” he added.

In the ongoing probe, Pastor Paul Mackenzie Nthenge of the Good News International Church is said to have instructed members to starve themselves in order to “meet Jesus”.

By Fred Odanga.