NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 18- Haki Africa, a lobby group fighting for human rights and against police excesses has raised alarm, over the dumping of bodies in River Yala in Siaya County by unknown people.
During a visit at Yala Sub-County hospital, the lobby group said they found at least 20 bodies that had been unidentified.
Most of them had been retrieved from the river and had marks of torture. Others had both hands tied with a rope.
There were also others that had been put in tightly sealed sacks.
“How come this is happening in an area that has a police station?” Haki Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid posed during a briefing to journalists. “How come these vehicles that are dumping bodies have never been confiscated?”
During a visit to the river on Monday, the Haki Africa boss while in the company of human rights activist Boniface Mwangi, found two bodies floating in the river.
Citing testimonials from locals, two cars have been in the past been spotted dumping the bodies in the river, at the wee hours of the night.
Amnesty International Kenya has joined the calls for investigations, amidst multiple cases of enforced disappearances in the country.
In 2021, Haki Africa documented more than 40 cases of enforced disappearances in the country. The victims are believed to have either been killed or mysteriously disappeared after they were forcefully taken by suspected security agencies.
The Coast region registered the highest number with 29 cases of enforced disappearances.
This year alone, the lobby group said it has documented 8.
“To our surprise, we have witnessed with our own eyes the dead bodies floating in the river,” Hussein said.
He has decried what he termed as inaction by security agencies and government authorities in the area.
“Where is the government?” he asked.
Other human rights defenders have joined in calls for investigations.
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