The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has raised alarm over the burial of 20 bodies from a mass grave in Kericho’s Makaburini Cemetery that had no official clearance, out of a total of 33 exhumed remains.
Only 13 of the bodies had court-approved authorization for burial, leaving the rest undocumented and unaccounted for.
In a statement released on Thursday, KHRC said it had obtained official documents indicating that the additional bodies were interred without proper oversight or record-keeping.
The commission warned that this situation could point to criminal negligence or deliberate wrongdoing, possibly implicating state officials.
Authorities recovered 33 bodies from the site, 25 of which are believed to be children, while eight were adults. Documents from Nyamira County Referral Hospital, addressed to the Chief Magistrate of Nyamira Law Courts, show that only 13 bodies had formal clearance. These included eight adults, one child, three foetuses, and a set of stillborn twins. The remaining 20 bodies were buried without authorization.
“The process of interring the bodies took place without proper documentation, coordination, or oversight by county health authorities, raising serious concerns over the roles of hospital officials, cemetery management and law enforcement agencies in this incident,” the commission said.
KHRC cautioned that the lack of accountability may indicate attempts to conceal unlawful deaths.
“This raises concerns about possible state involvement given Kenya’s history of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and cover-ups,” it added.
The commission also noted that neither police nor hospital authorities have provided information on the 20 unverified bodies.
KHRC compared the discovery to past cases of mass fatalities in Kenya, including the 2024 Embakasi quarry case, where bodies of murdered women were found with unusual markings, and the Shakahola forest tragedy in Kilifi, where 429 bodies were recovered amid slow and opaque investigations. The commission said these patterns point to ongoing gaps in accountability and oversight.
The commission described the Kericho incident as a direct violation of Kenyans’ constitutional rights to life and dignity and called for an independent, thorough investigation. KHRC is demanding that authorities determine responsibility at both individual and institutional levels, including any roles played by police officers or public officials.
It also urged forensic identification of all bodies using DNA testing, verification of links to enforced disappearances or extrajudicial killings, and full disclosure of findings to the public, with prosecutions pursued where violations are confirmed.