- The NGO’s executive director Hussein Khalid criticised state agencies for what he termed as laxity to ensure that people were not murdered and their bodies dumped in the river.
- He said it was shocking and extremely disturbing that the bodies were dumped by individuals who remain unknown even to security agencies in the region.
Image: Courtesy
HAKI Africa, a human rights defender organisation has raised concerns over increased numbers of bodies being retrieved at River Yala in Gem, Siaya county.
The NGO’s executive director Hussein Khalid criticised state agencies for what he termed as laxity to ensure that people were not murdered and their bodies dumped in the river.
“We are here in Yala today as HAKI Africa after receiving information through social media, our friend and colleague Boniface Mwangi where an individual complained that there were bodies in River Yala that are being retrieved and taken to Yala subcounty hospital mortuary,” Khalid said.
Khalid addressed reporters at the river banks on Monday.
He said they went to the mortuary and saw 21 unidentified male bodies and witnessed two other bodies floating on the river while they were at its banks.
Gem subcounty police Commander Charles Chacha said the figure of retrieved bodies which Khalid talked about was for last year.
“The number he is talking of is for the last one year, not this month,” Chacha told the Star on the phone.
Chacha said the issue was under investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
Khalid said Haki Africa had a list of 67 victims of enforced disappearances from 2021 and eight more, so far in 2022.
“We have been working with families whose relatives have disappeared. So, when we got this information, we decided to rush here,” Khalid added.
He said it was shocking and disturbing that the bodies were dumped by individuals who remain unknown even to security agencies in the region.
“What we know is that there is a double cabin and probox cars which have been spotted at different dates with individuals dumping bodies at a bridge into River Yala."
"According to local communities, this happens in the middle of the night between 1am and 5am. They have been spotted several times doing that,” Khalid said.
“So far, we have visited the mortuary and seen for ourselves bodies tied with ropes, that have been severely tortured. Some of them with dismembered limbs and other having marks on their heads. This signifies that these individuals were tortured before being dumped into the river,” he said.
Khalid added, “We have also heard of 10 bodies that were stashed inside sacks which were well knitted like parcels. Today we have seen floating bodies in the river. Do we have a government?"
"How comes this is happening in an area that should have a police station, where we have DCI, county government and all these are happening with everyone’s knowledge?”
“How comes that these vehicles that dump bodies in the river have never been found, impounded and drivers, owners arrested by police?” Khalid questioned.
He appealed to those whose kins had gone missing to visit Yala subcounty hospital mortuary for identification.
Chacha says they have erected roadblocks at night to screen all vehicles using the two bridges from where it was suspected that the bodies were being dumped into the river.
“We are doing something to avoid such scenarios in the future. The bodies belong to people killed far away from the subcounty and dumped at the bridges into the river. The victims are not residents,” Chacha said.
46-year -old Erick Otieno Omeno, a husband of two and father of three, was reportedly last seen on August 6 at Yala-Kisumu stage.
His family is yet to hear of his whereabouts after he together with his friend George Abong’o were reportedly picked by a Probox car in Yala town on the said date.
Chacha said, “The families reported their missing persons late. So, tracing them became tricky but we are still following some leads. ”