Bodies of two of the four young men who went missing in December last year in Mlolongo, after being abducted by people believed to be security officers, have been found at the Nairobi Funeral Home.

Coincidentally, the bodies were found on a day that Inspector General of Police David Kanja and Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin finally honoured court summons over their abduction.

During the court proceedings, Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo rose to inform the magistrate that the body of one of the three persons abducted in Mlolongo, Justus Mutumwa Musyimi, had been found.

“Police took finger prints of the body to confirm whether it is Mutumwa and the uncles and sister have confirmed that the body is that of Justus Mutumwa Musyimi,” Maanzo stated at the High Court.

Mutilated bodies

The mutilated bodies of  Mutumwa and Martin Nyuso Mwau were yesterday positively identified by their relatives accompanied by  Maanzo and his Kitui counterpart Enock Wambua at the mortuary.

Maanzo, who is the lawyer for Mutumwa’s family, said the bodies were found in Ruai two days after the victims went missing and transferred to Nairobi Funeral Home, adding that fingerprints had been taken to establish their identities.

The bodies were registered as unknown. On that day, four bodies were collected from the area and taken to the mortuary, according to records at the facility.

“We were unable to identify the two other bodies,” Maanzo said.

Mutumwa, Mwau, Steven Mbisi Kavingo and Kalabi Mwema , all friends, were abducted under similar circumstances between December 16 and 17.

Following the discovery, concerns have been raised on how police investigate cases of unidentified bodies and missing persons.

There are procedures which include taking of fingerprints should identification documents not be found. Senator Wambua said the victims could have been shot, adding that given the state of the bodies, it could not be immediately established how they died.

“The most stressful thing is that the bodies were taken there by police officers and booked as unidentified persons. This is not what Kenyans voted for. It cannot be that people can just be killed like this,” he said.

Mutumwa’s family said they had visited several facilities in vain. For close to 44 days, the family spent sleepless nights hoping that they would one day be reunited with their kin. That was not to be.

Following the discovery of the bodies, Maanzo said a postmortem examination will be conducted to establish the cause of the deaths.

Elsewhere, the identity of another man whose body was found along Mombasa road in Athi River is also yet to be established. Members of the public reported that the body was found facing downwards with a gunshot wound on the lower back and exited through the abdomen.

“The victim could have been killed elsewhere before the body was dumped along Mombasa road,” police said. The body was transferred to Shalom Community Hospital mortuary awaiting identification and postmortem.

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) said they are still investigating cases of abductions and had not exonerated the police from culpability.

The authority said contrary to media reports, the matters are still under active investigations and that the probes remain a top priority of Ipoa and are progressing through various stages.

“In total, Ipoa launched investigations into 17 incidents of alleged abductions. As the investigations continue, Ipoa separately initiated a trend analysis of the incidents and circumstances witnessed during the incidents,” Ipoa chair Issack Hassan said.

The analysis revealed a worrying pattern of the alleged abductions which targeted at least 17 persons where the abductions occurred in broad daylight, with the abductors not bothered whether they were captured on CCTV nor the possibility of police intervention when victims and witnesses raised alarm.

“The victims reported torture, lengthy detention, personal threats to injury and abduction by at least three people. Further, victims reported that the persons who arrested them were not in police uniform, had covered their faces and camouflaged their vehicles,” Ipoa said.

The victims were also reportedly detained in deplorable conditions, given transport upon release and warned not to discuss their detention or face further consequences.

Some of the investigative challenges, according to the authority, include witness intimidation, non-cooperation, and police officers clad in civilian attire, camouflaged and operating vehicles with obscured number plates during the Gen-Z demonstrations.

“Out of the 17 victims, 9 resurfaced within a day after their alleged abductions and expressed lack of interest in following up their matters with Ipoa. In addition, six victims were found after periods ranging from a day to 32 days,” the chairperson said.

Mysterious circumstances

He added that one victim was reported dead while one is still missing and that they will make recommendations based on the findings.

On January 6, four young men who were abducted by people believed to be security officers in December were released under mysterious circumstances.

The timing and the coordinated manner in which the abductees were released, hundreds of kilometres apart, pointed to the work of the same group.

Police regulations state that whenever unidentified bodies are found, a detailed report has to be made in the OB including the sex, approximate age and height, dressing, and the general physical appearance. A brief to the police headquarters will be written and a signal of circulation of unknown body sent to other stations across the country.

The fingerprints taken are then forwarded to the Registrar of Persons at the NSSF Building and the results are usually released immediately.

At the scene, police are expected to draft a sketch plan and study the scene with a view to establishing whether the injuries observed are consistent with accident injuries or the victim was just murdered elsewhere and the body dumped. In most cases, however, this has not been the case.

The National Police Service has also maintained that they are not involved in the abductions but said all the reported cases are under active investigations.