The investigation into the discovery of dozens of bodies in Kericho County hit a major setback on Wednesday after government pathologists halted planned postmortems, citing lack of capacity at the local mortuary.
The team, led by government pathologist Dr Richard Njoroge, determined that the mortuary at Kericho County Hospital does not have the facilities needed to handle the examinations of the 32 bodies recovered from mass graves.
The delay has slowed efforts to identify the victims and establish the cause of death, even as pressure mounts from human rights groups demanding a full and transparent probe.
The case has drawn widespread concern, particularly after it emerged that most of the bodies belong to children.
Tony Were of the Independent Medico-Legal Unit said the pathologists first needed to evaluate whether the mortuary could support the work before deciding on the next steps.
“We have spoken to the pathologist. He has let us know that they first want to assess the morgue to find out if it has the facility, equipment, and capacity to conduct the postmortem. They also want to assess what they will begin with, whether they will do a postmortem first or DNA first,” Were said as quoted by Citizen TV.
After completing the assessment, Njoroge concluded that the facility was not suitable for the exercise, forcing a pause in the process.
Were further explained that the complexity of the case had increased due to the condition of the remains.
“Apart from the bodies that were retrieved, we know there were also limbs that were retrieved. They will need to establish whether the limbs belong to the bodies retrieved or if they were from elsewhere,” Were added.
The bodies were discovered last weekend at a cemetery in the county, prompting investigations that led to exhumations. By Tuesday, officials had confirmed that 25 of the bodies were children, while seven were adults, raising more questions about the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
Residents have expressed shock over the findings, saying the incident has deeply affected the community, especially due to the high number of children involved.
Civil society groups following the case have called on authorities to speed up the investigations and make public all findings. They have also offered support, including helping with the postmortem process and providing counselling to affected families.
“They should fast-track the pathologists to get us the truth. They should find out where the people came from, as we know the people buried at Makaburini didn’t come from this county,” Agnes Boit of Voices for Justice-CBO said.
Local residents are now urging leaders to step in and ensure the investigation moves forward without further delays.
