Five bodies of missing people recovered from shallow graves in Mandera

A group of herders in Bambo, Mandera County discovered five bodies who included a woman buried in a shallow grave.

The five had been missing for days before the bodies were discovered on Monday afternoon.

The herders said they were grazing their animals when they stumbled on the grave and later alerted authorities. Some of them accused local security operatives of being behind the murder and burial of the four men and a woman.

Mandera Deputy Governor Ahmed Maalim was among those who condemned the incident.

“We plan to visit the site of the grave. We don’t know those behind the killing but this seems to be well planned and executed. It is extrajudicial killing,” he said.

Witnesses who presided over the exhumation of the bodies said one of the male bodies had a bullet wound on the head and the rest appeared to have been strangled.

Mandera County police boss Bernard Nyakwaka said they were investigating the incident.

“We received reports of bodies buried in a shallow grave in Fino and they have been exhumed and taken for preservation at a local mortuary as investigations continue. It is not clear who was behind the incident and motive is not known,” he said.

Discovery of graves in the area is not new to many. Locals usually accuse security agencies of being behind the incidents but the officials deny. The area is also prone to attacks from Al-Shabaab militants who cross from Somalia.