In the dusty Ol Donyo Sabuk township of Machakos County - about 60km from Nairobi - business goes on as usual. Buyers and sellers haggle over prices as motorcycle taxi operators hoot loudly.
Touts operating battered passenger vehicles shout their voices hoarse as they seek the attention of travellers.
About 500m away, Athi River flows leisurely under the now “infamous” Ol Donyo Sabuk Bridge, which has become a popular spot to dump the bodies of people killed under mysterious circumstances. The bridge separates Kiambu and Machakos counties.
In the most recent incident, which has left the nation reeling in shock, the body of Thomas Minito, a member of the Baringo County Assembly representing Churo Amaiya ward, was discovered.
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Mr Minito’s body was found under the bridge last Friday, five days after he went missing.
The killing of Minito some 329km away - you go across four counties - is a bigger puzzle. The last time he was seen alive, he was having lunch in Kabarnet town, Baringo County, where two people suspected to be police officers whisked him away.
His body was first spotted lying on a rock under the bridge by children last Thursday.
Residents said they heard pupils screaming as they crossed the bridge on their way from school. They saw a man’s body lying on a rock beneath the bridge.
“The body was probably dumped a few hours before it was spotted. It was not in a gunny bag or paper bag; it was just lying there. The man was fully dressed and bore what looked like a fresh wound on one side of his forehead,” said Ambrose Ngigi, a resident.
Last Friday, police arrested five people who went to view the body at Donyo Sabuk Funeral Home.
The five were taken to Donyo Sabuk Police Station moments after an altercation between them and Tiaty MP Asman Kamama, who had arrived at the funeral home earlier.
But this is not the first time the bridge is making news for all the wrong reasons.
A former Moi University student who disappeared mysteriously in April 2016 was found dead and his body dumped in Athi River near the bridge.
Shukri Mohammed, 24, went missing from his mother’s home in Kaptembwo estate in Nakuru town at around 8.35am on April 4. His body was recovered by police officers on April 8. To date, nothing has come of the investigations into his death.
Nairobi lawyer
On July 1, 2016, the bodies of Nairobi lawyer Willie Kimani and taxi driver Joseph Muiruri, who was with him at the time he went missing, were found in Athi River - at the bridge.
The 32-year-old lawyer, the client he was representing and Mr Muiruri went missing after a court appointment. Their bodies were discovered over a week later.
No resident was willing to speak to this writer on record and all preferred to give aliases.
“We can’t afford to have our names out there because we find it suspicious that at no point has anyone ever been apprehended while dumping the bodies, yet we have a police station nearby,” said Mutiso (not his real name).
He said more bodies were being dumped than was being reported in the media.
“In fact, most people only get to hear about it when it involves a prominent person, like the lawyer who died last year or the MCA (Minoti),” he said.
The battered Ol Donyo Sabuk Bridge is itself a disaster waiting to happen: The better part of the railing on both sides is worn out or vandalised.
The water in the expansive river below is littered with the aggressive water hyacinth weed, and flows seamlessly to the famous Fourteen Falls downstream.
It is a rather lonely place, with two disinterested police officers 'manning' the bridge on the Machakos side. There are homes a safe distance from the bridge.
Homicide unit
At the bridge, we met a police officer from the Homicide Unit who was at the scene for investigations. He assured us that they would get to the bottom of the matter.
“We will soon be joined by forensics experts,” he said.
The hunt may be on for leads on the possible killers of the Baringo politician and the mystery surrounding the 'killer' bridge.
But what remains unclear in the minds of many Ol Donyo Sabuk residents is what makes the bridge such a favourite spot for dumping bodies probably killed elsewhere.
“We have never really understood why this particular river - and more interestingly - this particular bridge, has become so popular,” said Amina (not her real name).
