The shock of the Shakahola mass cult deaths remains palpable for survivors and families who lost their loved ones, and the two-year wait for the bodies to be identified has upended their lives.

For many families, the agonising wait to collect the bodies of their loved ones and give them a decent burial has been an emotional ordeal.

Some families have resigned themselves to the possibility that they may never find the bodies of their loved ones and are planning to bury banana stems, in accordance with their culture.

The Mijikenda community still buries a banana stem in place of a relative who is feared dead but whose body cannot be found.

Patrick Ngumbao, whose mother and three siblings moved to Shakahola in 2020, has been waiting in vain for DNA results to confirm the fate of his family members.

Ngumbao said the family had postponed a traditional ritual, but after two years of waiting, they are now considering burying banana stems to lay the spirits of the deceased to rest.

“We postponed the ritual to give room for the government to produce the remains, but now it seems there is no hope. We are going to sit as a family and carry out the ceremony so their souls can rest in peace,” said Ngumbao.

Kaya elder Tsuma Nzai explained that a banana stem can be buried in the absence of a body because the banana symbolises life.

“A banana stem is planted to ward off ghosts,” he said.

Christine Nekesa, who lost her sister and two children, is still hoping the government will soon release the DNA results and the bodies.

“I’m still waiting for the results. No one is telling us anything. We cannot start preparing for the funeral until the bodies are found and released to us,” she said.

A total of 488 bodies of followers of the Good News International church, linked to controversial preacher Paul Makenzi, were retrieved from shallow graves in the Shakahola forest.

Medical reports indicate that some victims were struck in the head with blunt objects, others suffocated, while many starved to death after the cult’s leaders instructed them to fast in order to meet Jesus.

The Kenya Red Cross reports that at least 600 people are still missing. Makenzi and his wife are among the 92 individuals facing charges in connection with the deaths of the 488 people. Two suspects have died while in prison.

Priscilla Riziki lost her daughter and three grandchildren in Shakahola Forest.

“After the media hype and attention, the government has gone silent, and we are left suffering,” she said.

Riziki says she cannot find peace until she has buried her daughter and grandchildren.

“When you lose a loved one, you can only find peace after burying them. The grave will serve as a constant reminder that the deceased is resting in peace,” said Riziki.

“It has been nearly two years, and it feels as though the massacre happened just yesterday. It is still an open wound, and we urge the identification process to be hastened so we can finally close this chapter,” she added.

Her daughter Lorine and two of her grandchildren are presumed dead. One of Riziki’s grandchildren was identified last year through a DNA test and was buried.

“I do not want to bury a banana stem. I will wait for their bodies,” she said.

Many relatives, desperate for closure, are left in limbo, as the government chemist is reportedly facing financial and logistical challenges in processing the remains.

Government officials have also stated that the poor condition of the bodies, stored in container mortuaries outside Malindi County Hospital, has made the process more difficult.

The bodies were in varying stages of decomposition, complicating the extraction of viable DNA profiles.

Jesca Khonde, who lost nine family members, said only one of them had been identified through a DNA test last year.

“Out of the nine, only a child was identified, and we buried him,” said Khonde.

So far, 333 DNA samples have been tested out of the 453 bodies recovered, with only 37 matched to their relatives.

Last year, the government announced that unclaimed or unidentified bodies would be buried in Shakahola. The state plans to repossess 4,000 acres of Chakama Ranch, to create a final resting place for victims who remain unclaimed by their close family members. However, some families oppose this idea.

The 5,000-acre Chakama Ranch, which includes Shakahola, remains a crime scene and is out of bounds.

However, most of the police officers who had been stationed there have been recalled, leaving only one Land Rover for occasional patrols.

There is minimal activity in nearby towns. The small shopping centres that had sprung up have dwindled.