KERICHO, Kenya — Criminal investigators in western Kenya announced Thursday they have recovered the remains of at least 33 individuals from a mass burial site, with officials believing the bodies originated from a hospital morgue facility.
The investigation team uncovered remains of eight adults and 25 children, along with dismembered body parts contained in burlap sacks, at a cemetery owned by a church in Kericho, law enforcement officials reported.
“We were able to establish that these were bodies transferred from Nyamira District Hospital to a private cemetery in Kericho,” Mohamed Amin, the head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, told reporters.
Amin explained that investigators are working to determine if proper legal protocols were followed when the bodies were removed from the morgue and disposed of.
Kenyan regulations mandate that medical facilities and morgues must dispose of unclaimed remains after a 14-day period, but this process must be authorized through a court order.
State pathologists performed examinations Thursday to establish how the individuals died. Officials have not disclosed the identities of the deceased.
Two individuals have been taken into custody in connection with the case.
Media outlets in the area reported that unknown individuals transported the bodies using a government vehicle and hastily interred them. Some cemetery workers reportedly contacted police about the suspicious activity.
“We need authorities to conduct a thorough investigation,” said resident Brian Kibunja.
Another community member, Samuel Moso, said officials should “reveal if the government was involved or if a different group of people was behind the mass burial.”
This marks Kenya’s third significant mass grave discovery within the past three years.
During 2023, law enforcement found hundreds of bodies in a forest burial ground in the coastal Kilifi area. Those remains were connected to a religious leader who caused his followers’ deaths through starvation.
The following year in 2024, officials retrieved nine bodies from a waste disposal site in the capital city of Nairobi.
This recent find comes amid increasing worries among Kenyan citizens regarding alleged police misconduct and human rights violations.
Human rights organization Missing Voices has recorded 125 extrajudicial killings and six forced disappearances in Kenya during the past year. The organization documented 104 extrajudicial killings in the year prior.
