Shock and anger as eight bodies pulled from Mukuru dumpsite

Recce Squad officers calm the crowd at the dumpsite in Kware, Mukuru Kwa Njenga slums, on July 13, 2024. [Collins Oduor, Standard]

Shock and anger greeted the removal of five more bodies at a dumpsite in Kware, Mukuru Kwa Njenga slums.

This brought to 13, the total number of bodies recovered from the dumpsite by Saturday evening.

The gory images of dismembered bodies, most of them women, killed and dumped in an open ditch in the sprawling slums pointed to a well-planned execution of people whose families are still dumbfounded.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) confirmed all the bodies retrieved on Friday were female, and were severely mutilated in different stages of decomposition.

Details remained scanty about the five additional bodies recovered yesterday, even as questions linger over the motive of killings, and whether police were involved.

The deaths come weeks after at least 40 Kenyans were reportedly killed during the anti-government protests that also saw many Kenyans abducted. A number of abductees were found dead. But by Saturday, police and civil society organizations were yet to link the retrieved bodies to recent disappearances.

The process of retrieving bodies was, however, marred with chaos as an angry crowd grew unruly, prompting the police to lobe teargas canisters to disperse and contain the masses. 

Tensions escalated when the officers from DCI arrived at midday.

Earlier, roads leading to the scene were barricaded by agitated residents, condemning the gruesome murder of the victims even as they questioned authorities over ‘negligence’ in ensuring public security.

Recce Squad officers who were deployed struggled to calm the situation leading to more security reinforcement that saw two police water canons deployed.

The Standard caught up with a woman whose search for her missing sister led to the horrific revelations. 

Peris Keya claimed she had several visions in her sleep of her sister Josephine Mulongo.

She said that in the dream, her sister directed her to a river, and she suspected that her sister may have been damped at the quarry.

“After the dream, together with Mulongo’s friend, we went to the quarry and saw some sacks that were well wrapped and called for assistance from the boys working at the quarry who confirmed it was a human body,” she said.

“We reported to the Villa police station and to our shock, more bodies have been discovered dumped there,” she added. 

She narrated the circumstances under which her sister went missing, making her launch a search for her.

“My sister responded to a call she received on the morning of June 25, but her whereabouts have never been established to date,” she said, expressing hope that her sister may be among the bodies retrieved. 

By last evening, the police were yet to release the identity of the bodies as homicide detectives and officers from the Forensics Division of the DCI were still analyzing samples.

Kyalo Wambua, the local diver who led the exercise, said it was a grim task with little support coming from authorities. 

“The bodies have been wrapped in sacks and polythene bags and they are oozing foul smell,” said Wambua. 

On Saturday, the process of retrieving bodies was slow and a boat was brought to speed up the exercise.

Uproar greeted the deaths with Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga condemning the mystery.

“It’s a sad and dark moment for Kenya, what we have witnessed in Mukuru Kwa Njenga, pains me deeply. The perpetrators of these and other heinous acts must face the full force of the law immediately,” he said.

Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA) alluded to the incident to Sexual and Gender-based Violence and brutality against women.

“The discovery of these bodies is not an isolated incident but part of a disturbing pattern of violence against women that has been escalating in our country,” FIDA chair Christine Kungu said.

Police Reforms Working Group (PRWG-K) and Civic Freedoms Forums (CFF), said: “This horrific incident is a mass fatality issue, it represents a grave violation of human rights and raises serious concerns about the rule of law and security in our country,” said Irungu Houghton, Amnesty International-Kenya Executive Director. 

Davis Malombe of the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) said:

“To ensure that the Forensic Death Investigation Process – that is Postmortems should be done together with independent observers. These processes should be done in a central location. As such, the bodies should be moved to one location and preserved awaiting forensic death investigation,” Cornelius Oduor of KHRC stated.