Government pathologists have carried out a postmortem on 36 bodies that were exhumed from the Shakahola graves in Magarini, Kilifi County and 22 DNA tests taken from relatives of missing persons.
There were 17 males and 19 females, and adults were 19 and 16 were children while one body could not ascertain its gender or age due to severe decomposition.
Chief pathologist Johansen Oduor added that 23 bodies were severely decomposed, 11 moderately decomposed and two mildly decomposed and the body of one child had a head injury.
The cause of death he said was starvation for 23 bodies, four bodies died after being denied oxygen while it was impossible to ascertain the death of seven bodies due to the severe decomposition.
He added that one adult had chronic diseases including kidney failure and heart disease while three children and an adult had compression of the neck.
Chief pathologist Johansen Oduor told journalists on the third day of the exercise that all the bodies had their body parts intact.
Today’s postmortem at the Malindi Sub County hospital Mortuary brings the number to 76 since the exercise began on Monday with Oduro saying that his team will complete the exercise on Friday before resuming exhumation at Shakahola, 78 kilometers from Malindi town.
The government will meet the costs of DNA tests conducted on relatives of missing persons.
On the rescue mission at Shakahola farm, one person was rescued and taken to the Malindi Sub County hospital.
