Police admit lapses in Kwa Binzaro cult response

The National Police Service has admitted there were lapses in handling the Kwa Binzaro tragedy, acknowledging that gaps in intelligence, investigations, and coordination among security agencies played a role in the incident. The admission comes as the country grapples with yet another cult-related disaster following last year’s Shakahola tragedy.

Speaking to reporters, Police spokesperson Michael Muchiri said the situation revealed shortcomings in preparedness despite lessons from past incidents.

“It is a saddening development. There seems to have been a disconnect between intelligence services, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, and the wider administration,” Muchiri stated.

He admitted that mistakes were made and promised a thorough review to understand why such a tragedy could happen again.

Authorities have appealed for patience as investigations continue, assuring the public that measures will be implemented to prevent a repeat of similar failures. So far, 32 bodies have been recovered from the site, while more than 60 people are feared dead due to connections with the new cult.

On Thursday, seven additional bodies were exhumed, alongside 54 body parts found scattered across the forest. Government pathologist Richard Njoroge noted that the recovered bodies had not fully decomposed, suggesting that some shallow graves might have been disturbed by wild animals.

“We have noted that at this particular site the bodies look a bit fresh. They are not fully skeletonized and like last week. The bodies we exhumed last week were full skeletons with no flesh. But the bodies we found here look to have been buried a few months or weeks ago,” Dr. Njoroge explained.