Seven followers of controversial pastor Paul Mackenzie were on Friday reunited with their families after being rescued from Shakahola forest by the police.
Their families had reported them missing at the tracing centre established by the Kenya Red Cross at the Malindi Sub County Hospital.
Kenya Red Cross Regional Coordinator in the Coast region, Hassan Musa, confirmed that the family members had been reunited with their kin and had travelled to their respective homes.
In an interview, Musa said as by Friday, they had recorded 410 people had been reported missing by their loved ones, including the seven.
“Out of the 410 people reported missing, 227 are children under the age of 18 years. This is information brought by their relatives who are looking for them,” Musa said at the Malindi Sub County Hospital Mortuary.
The Red Cross Regional Coordinator said they are providing psychosocial support and counselling for relatives searching for their missing kin.
Musa said they experienced challenges with the mobile mortuary that was installed on Thursday after it developed some faults.
He, however, revealed that the fault had been rectified and was now in proper working condition and ready to receive bodies.
“I'm hopeful that the county government can now use it. We shall continue working with the county government to ensure that in case there are those who will be rescued, we shall receive the necessary assistance,” he said.
So far, 108 bodies have been exhumed from the Shakahola shallow mass graves in the ongoing operation.
The operation was, however, temporarily halted on Friday following heavy rains that hindered the rescue and exhumation process.
