About 32 bodies, mostly children, have been dug up from a mass grave in the western Kenyan town of Kericho as investigations continue into the shocking discovery.
The exhumation was done after the police obtained a court order to retrieve 14 bodies that were initially believed to have been buried at the site.
Government pathologist Richard Njoroge told journalists on Tuesday evening that what they found was “quite unusual” with bodies “stacked in gunny bags”, after a day-long process that was interrupted by heavy rains.
A post-mortem examination is expected to begin on Wednesday, amid calls to promptly identify the bodies and investigate the circumstances of the deaths.
Njoroge said there were “seven adults and 25 children”, with the children being infants and foetuses. A number of body parts were also retrieved.
The pathologist added that some of the bodies appeared to have originated from hospitals and mortuaries but that would be further determined after autopsies.
He noted that the adult remains were highly decomposed, with those of the children less so, which he said indicated that they died at different times.
On Tuesday, homicide detectives and forensic teams, wearing white protective suits, gloves and face masks, worked under tight security as they dug at the site.
Some bodies were recovered intact, while others were found as partial remains and bones, and placed in evidence bags.
Police sealed off the area while a crowd of residents gathered nearby. Some appeared visibly shaken as investigators documented each stage of the exhumation.
The exhumation followed a tip-off from a whistleblower, which prompted police to launch an investigation.
On Monday, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said their initial findings indicated that 13 unclaimed bodies had officially been released from a hospital in neighbouring Nyamira county and transported to Kericho for burial last Friday.
However, many questions remain about the additional bodies and the manner of burial.
It is also not clear how the bodies came to be buried at the site that belongs to the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), which has denied links to the secret burial.
An official of the organisation told the local Daily Nation news website that the burial was conducted without their approval and caught NCCK officials by surprise.
The DCI had earlier said it was investigating whether there was any criminal activity besides the reported irregularities in the burial process.
Two suspects, a public health officer from Nyamira and a cemetery caretaker, have reportedly been arrested in connection with the matter, with others being questioned.
Human rights group Vocal Africa said the discovery was a “staggering and horrific escalation that exposes the true scale of this tragedy”.
“With reports of mutilation and dismemberment among the remains, the discovery points to a level of violence that demands immediate, transparent investigation and national accountability,” it said.
“Identification of these victims must be done as soon as possible,” outgoing Law Society of Kenya president Faith Odhiambo said.
The discovery comes after hundreds of bodies were found in a remote forest in 2023 near the coastal city of Malindi in one of the country’s worst cases of cult-related mass deaths.
Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie was arrested after 429 bodies, including children, were dug up from mass graves in the remote Shakahola forest.
He was accused of ordering his followers to starve themselves to death – charges he has denied.
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