Three of the four men who were found dead in a river near Del Monte farm in Murang’a died as a result of drowning.
The bodies were also found bearing visible injuries on their heads and necks, a postmortem conducted on Friday, December 29 showed.
The bodies of the three have been identified as Mbae Mulumbi, 21, Bernard Mutua, 22, and Francis Muimi 34 while one body still lies unidentified.
A joint autopsy conducted by three pathologists at Thika's General Kago mortuary showed that the men whose bodies were found at Thika River near Del Monte farm drowned.
The exercise also indicated that two bodies had multiple injuries on the head, neck and other parts of the body but the injuries were not enough to cause their deaths.
According to pathologist Dr Benard Midiya who was hired by the families of the victims, they could not conclusively tell how the physical injuries on the bodies came about but it was an important finding that will aid investigations.
“There are injuries in the head, parts of the neck and they are of various sizes and designs and they will be documented in detail in the required official format and they will assist in further investigations," he said.
Pathologist Geoffrey Mutuma who represented Del Monte downplayed the injuries found on the bodies, saying that they were so minor and so superficial and they could not cause any death.
"Of course, the injuries were not that serious because what we look for is injuries that can be able to incapacitate somebody," he said.
Kenya National Commision for Human Rights (KNCHR) officials were present.
KNCHR official Kamanda Mucheke said preliminary investigations indicate that the four men were attacked before they were forced into the river and drowned as they escaped.
Del Monte Kenya said they will issue an official statement once they gather all the facts.
Witnesses said the four were stealing pineapples at the Del Monte farm before they were attacked on December 21, 2023.
Their bodies were retrieved in Thika River on Christmas Eve.
The vast plantation which is estimated to cover at least 40 sq km, the area of Muranga. The farm has public roads going through it and directly employs 237 security guards.
