Crime scene
Homicide detectives are now pursuing the motive behind the murder of eight people whose bodies were found in thickets in Mwingi, Kitui county.
This was after the mystery surrounding the bodies recovered from a suspected mass grave deepened after postmortem examinations revealed that several of the victims were murdered.
Chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor said postmortems conducted in Nairobi on Wednesday established that the remains belonged to eight victims, not seven as initially thought.
Investigators determined that a severed head recovered separately belonged to one of the deceased.
The examinations stated two victims were strangled to death, three suffered severe head injuries, while another sustained fatal stab wounds to the abdomen.
The cause of death for two others could not be established because of the advanced state of decomposition.
“We treated them as eight bodies because one had a detached head found separately. We found two who were strangled, three with head injuries, one with a stab wound to the abdomen, and two where the cause of death could not be ascertained due to advanced decomposition,” Oduor said.
Investigators believe the victims may have been killed up to three months before their remains were discovered.
The bodies, which were transferred from Mwingi to Nairobi’s City Mortuary for forensic examinations, were all found in an advanced state of decomposition, making visual identification impossible.
Authorities have now turned to DNA profiling, with samples already submitted to government laboratories. Relatives of missing persons have been urged to provide DNA samples to help identify the victims.
“When bodies are so decomposed they all look alike. That’s why relatives of missing persons must provide DNA so comparisons can be done,” Oduor explained.
The pathologist also defended the decision to move the bodies to Nairobi, citing inadequate mortuary facilities in Mwingi to conduct such complex postmortem examinations.
The discovery has heightened fears among residents, particularly because it follows the recovery of two mutilated bodies — a man and a woman — in the same area barely a month ago.
The woman’s head was missing. The latest search operation was triggered by the discovery of a dismembered body on June 8, prompting detectives and forensic teams to cordon off the site and begin extensive exhumation exercises amid fears that more bodies could be buried there.
Attention now shifts to detectives tasked with identifying the victims, establishing how they died, and determining whether a serial killer, organised criminal gang, or another network may be behind the killings.
The grim findings have intensified calls from local leaders and human rights groups for swift investigations and accountability as residents demand answers over one of the most disturbing criminal cases reported in the region in recent years.
In Machakos, detectives are also investigating the discovery of at least four bodies in separate places in the past three days. The motives are yet to be known.
Teams from homicide department are pursuing the mysteries, officials aware of the issue said on Wednesday.
