The Puzzle Of Bodies Found In River Yala As A Team Of Detectives Sent To Search For Answers

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 19- A team of detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters has been dispatched to Siaya County, to probe the source of several bodies found dumped in River Yala.

Some of the detectives are drawn from the forensic unit. They will help with the identification process for at least 19 bodies.

Police headquarters in a statement said they it was aware of the discoveries, which it says have happened over the past two years. The bodies have marks of torture.

Locals and human rights activists say there are other bodies still within the river, that are yet to be retrieved.

A team from Shahidi News also confirmed seeing remains of bodies along the river.

In a statement, the National Police Service spokesperson Bruno Shioso said the bodies remain unclaimed despite an appeal.

A section of human rights defenders in the country have put him on task, asking him to explain when the appeal was made and to who.

“Despite repeated appeals to the public, no one has so far come forward to claim the bodies that are lying at Yala Sub County Level Four Hospital Mortuary,” he said.

He said a team of detectives from forensic investigations had arrived at the mortuary to pick samples that can help in identifying the bodies.

Shioso appealed to the public to help them with information that can help in investigations.

There is an ongoing public debate over the 19 bodies that have been retrieved from River Yala with lobby groups among them Haki Africa and Amnesty International calling for investigations.

Activist Boniface Mwangi has also been on the frontline calling for investigations. It is Mwangi who brought the discoveries to the public, after a visit in the area alongside HAKI Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid.

On October 20, 2021, Yala Mortuary buried nine unidentified bodies to create space in the morgue.

Officials said the hospital had been receiving bodies from the river.

Gem sub county police commander Charles Chacha said they had begun their investigations after Yala residents raised concern over the bodies.

This comes in the wake of increased cases of discovery of bodies across the country in killings that have remained puzzling and unresolved.

Some of the victims had been linked to drug trafficking, terrorism and other common crimes. Police have denied involvement in the killings.

Last week, a body of a suspected drug trafficker who had gone missing was found in a mortuary in Thika.

The body of missing suspected Mombasa drug baron Masuo Bakari Tajiri was found at a mortuary in Thika, Kiambu county.

The body, which was badly decomposed, had marks of torture and burns.

Tajiri went missing on December 5 alongside two others people who had accompanied him to Thika to purchase a matatu.

The two—Mohammed Hussein and Fahmi Bakari—are still missing with the families hoping for their safe return.

Human rights bodies have pointed an accusing finger to the security agencies, over the dozens of enforced cases and extra-judicial executions.

Last year, Haki Africa documented more than 40 cases of enforced disappearances in the country.

This year alone, the lobby group says it has documented 9 cases of enforced disappearances.