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{
    "id": 1353099,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1353099/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 315,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mungatana MGH",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "engagement of the public hearings. Pursuant to our mandate under Article 118 of the Constitution, we invited various stakeholders and members of the public to submit their views to this Committee. The Committee also went on fact-finding visits to Kilifi, Vihiga and Kisumu counties. During these visits, the Committee received first-hand information from survivors of the tragedy, the families of these victims, county security committees, religious groups and civil society groups. In total, the Committee received both oral and written submissions from more than 208 stakeholders and members of the public. Madam Temporary Speaker, I take this opportunity to thank members of the public who gathered the courage to meet us and give us the necessary information that led us to have a good report that we have tabled here. We visited Shakahola Forest and interacted with the agencies that were involved in the exhumation and investigation processes. We also visited the compound of Mr. Paul Mackenzie that was located in the middle of Shakahola Forest, where he coordinated his heinous activities. At the end of the report, we have attached pictures that will show some of the things that we saw in Shakahola. Madam Temporary Speaker, these are the challenges that we experienced. The Committee covered highly sensitive matters, and some of them, we were told, could have been prejudicial to any future prosecution against Mr. Paul Mackenzie and other persons. The Committee was alive to the fact that investigations and intelligence gathering on the circumstances surrounding the deaths in Shakahola were still ongoing, and placing sensitive information in the public domain was likely to negatively affect the prosecution of witnesses or suspects implicated in this case. The Committee resolved to omit certain individuals from its interrogation, and specific evidence that was received in camera sessions and documents were classified as confidential. A summary of the key issues raised in the evidence is however contained in the body of this report. Although we did not name particular people because we had an agreement with some of the investigating and prosecutorial agencies, we agreed that they give us the information; we take it in camera for our use, but in a way that will not prejudice the cases that they intended to prosecute. Madam Temporary Speaker, we have been faithful to that. The body of the Report contains this information in a way that will not prejudice any other proceedings. Madam Temporary Speaker, the sensitivities of this matter aside, the Committee also encountered a few challenges in the execution of its mandate. First, given the complexity and the evolving nature of the investigation, the initial time limit of 90 days to fulfil its mandate was not enough. So, we had the problem of time and also resource allocation. Many times, we wanted funds to do this or that, but we would not secure the funding. We intended to go to Uganda, where 1,000 were killed in a church. They had been promised heaven and they had sold their possessions. We also intended to go to Nigeria to see how they manage their situation. Nigeria has outlawed performing live miracles on television. We wanted to hear the experiences in Kigali, where the administration there"
}