Lobby groups call for action against police as five more bodies are retrieved from Embakasi quarry

Police and community volunteers on Saturday, July 13, 2024, retrieved five badly mutilated bodies of unidentified persons - mainly women from a quarry near Kware police station in Embakasi, Nairobi. This raised the number of bodies recovered from the scene to 13.

Eight bodies were recovered from the quarry on Friday, July 12, according to Independent Medico Legal Unit (IMLU) Executive Director Grace Wangechi.

The dismembered bodies were all found wrapped in bags and stashed in sacks of assorted colours and tied with cords before being dumped into the garbage-filled quarry.

The exercise was temporarily suspended after agitated members of the public overpowered and kicked police officers out of the scene.

They had stolen one of the bodies from the police officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI's) Homicides and Forensic Investigations units but was recovered with the help of community leaders.

Wangechi said the discovery of the bodies comes amid a troubling surge in cases of mysterious disappearances and abductions, particularly following recent protests against the Finance Bill 2024 that have resulted in the deaths of over 40 individuals.

"This horrific incident is a mass fatality issue, a grave violation of human rights and raises serious concerns about the rule of law and security in our country," said Wangechi, who read part of the statement by the Police Reforms Working Groups (PRWG) that are blaming the police for the killings.

The quarry where the mutilated bodies were discovered. (Photo:  Joseph Ndunda)

"Further, how the bodies were disposed of highlights the brutal nature of these killings and the urgent need for justice in light of the National Police Service (NPS) facing severe accusations of involvement in unlawful activities."

The PRWG are demanding that the government initiate a swift comprehensive investigation into the killings to determine the circumstances surrounding the deaths and hold those responsible accountable.

They also want the identities of the victims to be scientifically determined for accuracy.

The groups want the DCI's Division of Forensic and Pathology Services and the National Registration Bureau to prioritise the collection of fingerprints of the victims immediately.

"Postmortems should be done together with independent observers, in a central location. As such, the bodies should be moved to one location and preserved awaiting forensic death investigations," the groups said.

"The discovery of these dismembered bodies dumped in this quarry is a stark reminder of the urgent need to address and further publicise human rights violations and ensure the safety and security of all citizens."

The PRWG wants the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to cooperate with other law enforcement authorities to expedite investigations into all the reports of enforced disappearances and deaths allegedly committed by police officers.

They called for the establishment of a National Missing Persons Database.