Thirty-three bodies have been found in a mass grave in Kericho, with detectives also recovering several body parts.
The bodies were exhumed from a mass grave in Makaburini Cemetery, Kericho County, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.
Government pathologist Dr Richard Njoroge, who was part of the team involved in the exercise, confirmed that 25 were children while seven were adults, with the body parts of the 33rd person also recovered from the grave.
A secret grave was discovered within the cemetery, prompting investigations with homicide detectives obtaining a court order, paving the way for the exhumation.
The cemetery turned into an active crime scene, with homicide detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations joining civil organisations and government officials for the exercise on Tuesday morning.
Bodies in gunny bags
Activities at the cemetery amid a heavy downpour raised suspicion, prompting investigations.
The exercise revealed that the suspicious burial amid heavy downpour was not the only shock, as the bodies retrieved were all stacked in gunny bags.
“The bodies were stacked in gunny bags. We found seven adults and 25 children. We can classify some of them as foetuses and neonates,” Dr Njoroge said.
Body parts recovered
Several body parts were also recovered from the mass grave with authorities confirming that they would be analysed to establish whether they belong to one individual or more.
The findings could see the number rise in the case that has shaken the nation.
“So in total we have 32 bodies. We also found six body parts. Four legs and two hands. We are going to analyse them to find out whether they belong to one individual or many,” the pathologist confirmed to the press on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.
Establishing causes of deaths
An autopsy that will be conducted in the coming days will establish what caused the deaths, with Dr Njoroge noting that the exercise requires a lot of logistics.
“Some of these look like they have come from mortuaries, and others from hospitals, but we are going to determine that when we finish with the autopsy exercise.
“I am not going to say when we are going to start the autopsies because a lot of logistics would be required. It is not a simple exercise and must be done meticulously,” he explained.
