This archive report was first published on 29 October 2021.
More than 20 elderly people have been murdered in Kilifi's Rabai sub-county, with police yet to make any arrests or bring the perpetrators to justice.
According to Rabai MP William Kamoti, the police are too slow in investigating the killings, which has emboldened the perpetrators.
Speaking at a security meeting at Bwagamoyo in Mwawesa ward, Deputy County Commissioner Musa Issa said that all murder cases in the sub-county would remain active until the perpetrators are brought to justice.
"All murder cases will remain active until we bring all the perpetrators (to justice). We have to account for every person killed in Rabai regardless of the numbers. We have to look for all the killers," he said.
Issa also expressed concern that families were not following up on their cases, which could suggest they were behind the killings.
"There is no way you have lost your loved one, the case is under investigation, but there is no day as a family you will want to know the progress," he said.
MP Kamoti accused the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers in the area of laxity, saying that they had failed to explain why no perpetrator had faced legal action.
"We have no faith with the DCI officers in Rabai. They are quick to say that they have arrested some suspects, but arresting is not an issue because the law allows that. We need them in court," he said.
He also warned the community against seeking services from witchdoctors and false intercessors in solving family disputes.
"We do not want to see an innocent person killed because of allegations of witchcraft that cannot be proved anywhere," he said.
Local leaders, including Mwawesa MCA Caroline Kalume, have also expressed concern over the killings, which have been linked to witchcraft allegations.
"This is not the first or second meeting. We have convened several meetings to address the matter, but the trends are still the same. Residents are asking why people are being hacked every day with pangas, yet the perpetrators are not arrested and taken to court," she said.
She called on the police to enhance patrols in the hotspot areas and urged the community to name the suspects.
However, Rabai Sub County Police Commander Fredrick Abuga attributed the slow pace of investigations to the community's reluctance to provide information that could lead to the arrest of the perpetrators.
"It is unfortunate that in a murder incident, the police go to the homestead but find everybody missing. It is because the family members are behind the killings, and they know what transpired," he said.
