Psychiatrists have called on the government to put in place measures to ensure survivors of the Shakahola tragedy are rehabilitated and reintegrated into the community.
Kenya Psychiatric Association President Boniface Chitayi further wants the government to strengthen the mental health support services for the survivors, their relatives and those who lost their loved ones.
The mental health support, Chitayi said, should be extended to the professionals involved in the rescue, exhumations, reporting and support.
The association has faulted the government for pressing charges against the survivors, saying the survivors do not bear actual responsibility for the atrocities committed at Shakahola and hence should not be punished.
“We understand the role of hopeless people who join these sects. We continue to monitor ongoing investigations into the sect’s activities and await the final outcome,” Chitayi said.
“We understand that human beings can be misled within a group under a charismatic leader to behave in a way that defies cultural norms such as harming oneself and others,” he added.
This comes even as a Shanzu magistrate court on Thursday directed that 64 out of 65 followers of cult leader Paul Mackenzie who had staged a hunger strike be taken to a rescue centre in Kilifi.
The victims were rescued from the bushes of Shakahola on diverse dates between May 20 and June 10, and they were all in critical condition and with signs of starvation.
They were taken for treatment and thereafter to a rescue centre.
