From Tana River to Lari, Yala River, Murangá, Nairobi to Thika mortuaries, bodies are piling up, and they all have similar hallmarks when they are found.
The people were tortured before being killed in a macabre manner that even friends and relatives are afraid to talk about.
No bullets were used on them. It was either strangulation or suffocation.
And the victims were all picked kilometres away before the bodies were discovered in separate places.
That has been the trend in recent months as authorities and residents discover bodies dumped in their areas. No one is claiming responsibility.
Up to 50 bodies have been found this way. Nearly all the victims had run-ins with the authorities over various crimes they were suspected of, including poaching, robbery with violence, drug trafficking, terror links and stealing.
The bodies appeared to have a similar pattern of disposal: tied to heavy objects in an apparent move to keep them submerged in water.
The victims also include police officers, Kenya Wildlife Service and members of the public.
But who is killing them and why?
Police authorities deny any knowledge. And to be in charge of the probe, police headquarters has demanded an inventory of all reported cases of missing persons from regions to be able to address them accordingly.
'DO NOT SPECULATE'
Police spokesman Bruno Shioso warned against speculation, saying experts are working hard to identify the bodies, some of which had badly decomposed.
“I was in Yala and I can tell you the experts are working to ensure those whose kin are missing are identified as per law,” he said.
He said speculations will not help in the ongoing probe and urged for patience.
Among the bodies discovered are those of Elijah Obuong, Jack Anyango, Benjamin Imbai and Brian Oduor, who went missing on April 19, 2021, in Kitengela before the bodies were found in a river in Murang’a.
Police said they all had past criminal offences pending in courts.
The other is Somali-American businessman Bashir Mohamoud, who was on May 13 abducted before his body was found on the banks of River Nyamidi in Kirinyaga county.
Haki Africa says up to 20 individuals are missing in a worrying trend and linked it to the war on narcotics.
“Haki Africa calls for the return of many other Kenyans who are still missing,” the rights group said.
The latest discovery was that of Mwinyi Mzungu, who had gone missing in Mombasa on December 20 in what was seen as an operation targeting known drug mules in the region.
Mwinyi was the neighbour of Masuo Tajiri, whose badly decomposed body with marks of torture and burns was found in a mortuary in Thika early this year.
Tajiri is reported to have been waylaid by people who claimed to be police officers as he made his way to Mombasa from Thika, where he had travelled together with Fahmi Shekue and Hussein Mohammed, his employees, with the hope of purchasing a 14-seater van.
The body of Fahmi was also recovered in Thika mortuary. A recent autopsy conducted on Tajiri’s body revealed that he was tortured before being killed.
Fahmi’s body was found on January 30 at the Thika Mortuary, Kiambu county. This was almost two months after he went missing. Fahmi went missing on December 3, 2021, after leaving Mombasa for Thika for a business trip that turned fatal.
Tajiri went missing on December 3 alongside Fahmi and Mohammed Hussein, who had accompanied him to Thika to buy a matatu. Hussein is still missing, with the families hoping for his safe return.
Tajiri, who was being sought by Interpol over trans-border drug trafficking in Tanzania, Congo and Kenya, was also facing a case of being found in possession of 24,466.4 grammes of heroin with a market value of Sh7. 4 million.
On December 15, Tajiri was acquitted by a Shanzu court in absentia due to lack of evidence, while his co-accused, Fatuma Sicobo, was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Police records indicate he had served a prison term of seven years and had been arrested thrice for drug trafficking. Police say Fahmi and Mohamed were lured into drug trafficking by Tajiri.
DUMPING HOTSPOT
In Yala River, 25 bodies were retrieved from the area in January alone. Three of them have since been buried.
Investigations show among those identified were former police officer Peter Mutuku and his friend Philemon Chepkwony.
Mutuku was buried at his Kangundo home in Machakos county on February 10, while Kassim Butich, 24, and Kevin Wandati, 25, who were boda boda operators in Mumias, were buried on January 24 after the bodies were found in the same area.
Mutuku was a former General Service Unit officer based at the headquarters and was a close friend of Chepkwony.
The two went missing on December 2, 2021, as they drove in a hired car to Kericho. The car was found abandoned in Gilgil.
Mutuku, Chepkwony and Timothy Kaguru were arrested and charged in 2018 with stealing a Narok county government lorry.
They pleaded not guilty to stealing a water bowser belonging to the county government. They were later released on bond in 2020.
The third one is businessman Eustace Kibaba, 45, who went missing in November last year while on his way to Nakuru from Nairobi.
Kababa alongside Thomas Mutinda Munee had been charged, convicted and sentenced to death for the offence of robbery with violence contrary to Section 296(2) of the Penal Code following a trial before the Chief Magistrate's Court at Machakos in CMs Court Criminal Case No.2506 of 2001.
They appealed and were released in 2019. Police said they were on their radar for criminal activities.
Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai said investigations into the cases are ongoing and experts from the DCI headquarters are handling the matter.
SEARCH FOR ANSWERS
Police headquarters has asked all police commanders to compile a list of all missing persons whose cases are pending under investigation in the past five years.
Haki Africa wrote to DPP Noordin Haji, requesting his intervention over the saga in Yala after it emerged some of the victims had been tortured and possibly murdered elsewhere before their bodies were dumped in the river, which empties into Lake Victoria.
The group believes there are more bodies rotting elsewhere without the knowledge of families and relatives of the victims.
Efforts to identify the other remaining bodies are ongoing.
DCI officer Abdirahim Abdullahi, who was based in Embu, went missing on January 20. His body was found on January 25. Authorities say he was under the radar for poaching claims, which the family has denied.
The body was found by schoolchildren near Tambach Primary School on the border of Elgeyo Marakwet and Baringo counties.
It had deep cuts to the head and face, and the neck had signs of strangulation. His hands were tied with a rope from behind.
Abdullahi was a police constable stationed at Itabua Mugoya police station and attached to the DCI department in Embu. He had served for 12 years. His friend, identified as Yahya Hassan, is still missing.
In September 2021, 11 bodies were retrieved from the crocodile-infested River Tana.
The process of identifying the bodies is ongoing. Some of the victims were linked to poaching.
Officials managing wild animals had been complaining most of the poachers are usually arrested and taken to court but are later released on bond and go back to the same business.
Interior CS Fred Matiangí said investigations into the issue are ongoing and he will give a briefing as the probe is complete.
"I would not like to comment on such a matter that is still under investigations. Let us wait for the experts to tell us who these people are and how it happened," he said.
