Five bodies exhumed in Kwa Binzaro as mass graves probe intensifies in Kilifi

Detectives have exhumed five bodies from six graves in Kwa Binzaro Village, Kilifi County, on the first day of a renewed exhumation exercise linked to suspected mass graves in the area.

Government Pathologist Dr Richard Njoroge confirmed the recovery of the bodies on Thursday, saying the operation followed days of planning and coordination between security and forensic teams.

“Today, after many days of planning, we commenced the process of exhumation of the suspected graves here in Kwa Binzaro. We had 27 suspected graves at the commencement, so today we managed to exhume six. Out of the six, we found five bodies, and also around that area, we found 10 different body parts scattered in different places on the surface,” said Dr Njoroge.

He added that the exercise will continue in the coming days as 21 suspected graves remain. “We expect to also find more graves because we have not exhausted the search. The area is vast, so we expect more bodies,” he said.

Dr Njoroge appealed to families who have missing relatives to report to the Red Cross desk set up at Malindi District Hospital, where details will be recorded and DNA samples collected.

He noted that once the exhumations are complete, forensic experts will conduct post-mortems and match DNA with living relatives for possible identification and release of the remains.

The pathologist further recalled the Shakahola exhumation, where 453 bodies were retrieved. “We released around 33 or 34 bodies, leaving approximately 419 still pending,” Dr Njoroge said.

Kilifi County Commissioner Joseph Biwott commended the teams involved in the exercise, including homicide detectives, forensic experts, pathologists, local administrators, police officers, civil society groups, the Red Cross, and the media.

“Today we recovered five bodies, and I would like to thank everyone who came here to carry out this work. I want to appeal to all of us to work together until this exercise is completed. We have spoken to residents to help us by reporting any areas they suspect may contain graves. The area is being guarded by police officers who will remain here until the exercise is over.

Let us give out clear and accurate information to the public and not distort the truth,” Biwott said.

Civil society organisations also praised the government’s swift action. Human rights activist Walid Sketty said the process was long overdue.

“We appreciate the efforts put in place by the government to fast-track this process so that they begin the exhumation expeditiously. One of the bodies seemed to be fresh, while the rest appeared to have been there for a while. So far, so good, everything is in order. We suspect that some of the bodies could be residents from Malindi and other parts of the country whose families are missing their loved ones. They should come to Malindi, where there is a Red Cross desk to record their details and hopefully get justice,” said Sketty.

Haki Africa Rapid Response Officer Mathias Shipeta confirmed the figures reported, noting the difficulty in retrieving the remains.

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“As citizens and members of civil societies, the figures mentioned here have been confirmed as the bodies were being exhumed. This time, the bodies were a little bit hidden; it was not easy to retrieve them. But we appreciate the homicide team for the professional work they have done,” Shipeta said.

The operation is expected to continue until all suspected graves are exhumed, with authorities indicating more bodies could still be uncovered in the vast forested area of Kwa Binzaro.