The government has conducted an autopsy on seven bodies exhumed from a suspected mass grave in Mwingi, Kitui County, and has revealed that the victims died under violent circumstances, with some having been strangled, stabbed and subjected to severe head injuries.

A post-mortem conducted by Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor has revealed a disturbing mix of causes of death, including strangulation, blunt force trauma, and a penetrating stab wound, while two cases remain inconclusive due to advanced decomposition.

Speaking after the examination on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, Oduor said the condition of the bodies significantly complicated the work of forensic experts.

Decomposed bodies

“With our final analysis of the bodies, they were decomposed significantly, all of them. Some with some parts of the body becoming skeletonised, meaning that they’re becoming skeletonised, some parts of the body,” Oduor stated.

“When we finally did the autopsy one by one with my colleagues, we found that two of them were strangled. One of them, we could always find the ligature still there on the neck, but the other one had just the mark of strangulation. One of them had a penetrating injury, a stab wound to the abdomen. Three of them actually had a head injury. There were some signs of blunt trauma to the head.”

However, Oduor noted that for two of the bodies, the exact cause of death could not be established due to decomposition, leaving critical gaps in the investigation.

“Two, we were unable to ascertain what caused it, because of decomposition. It was difficult to ascertain the cause of death.”

Recovery of the bodies

According to police reports made on Tuesday, June 10, 2026, through Mwingi Sub-county commander Anthony Maina, the police acted on information from a member of the public who discovered an unusual occurrence at the scene and made reports that led to the uncovering of the mass grave.

The sub-county commander called on the members of the public to take bold steps in reporting such matters to the police, assuring them of their safety.

“Mwananchi tu akafika hapa na akaona kuna kitu haiendi sawa sawa na akapiga taarifa. “Ukiona kitu suspicious, piga ripoti; hiyo mambo ya kusema ati ukiona kitu junakuwa mshukiwa hito ilikwisha,” Maina said.

Following the recovery of a dismembered body in the area on Monday, June 8, 2026, police were prompted to launch a wider search operation and deploy forensic teams to the site in Mwingi town.

Police have urged anyone with a missing relative to report to Mwingi Central Police Sub-County headquarters to assist with identification.

“All the bodies are naked and have been buried in separate graves. If anyone has a missing relative, please report to the police,” Maina added.