The court has directed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to exhume bodies believed to be buried in Lake Nakuru National Park, as the case of missing fisherman Brian Odhiambo takes a new twist.
In the directive issued on Thursday, October 9, the DCI was tasked with conducting the exhumation and extracting DNA in efforts to find the missing fisherman who was allegedly last seen with Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers.
This was amid reports that Odhiambo’s body might have been buried within the park, where he was last seen alive after reportedly being arrested for illegal fishing.
Any exhumation would deepen the mysteries of buried bodies within the park and possibly expose KWS and the park’s management to bigger lawsuits.
The directive came after a high-profile witness testified that he saw Odhiambo’s lifeless body in a KWS vehicle, contradicting reports made by KWS rangers who asserted that Odhiambo had fled.
While testifying on Monday, September 8, a prosecution witness told Principal Magistrate Kipkurui Kibelion that Odhiambo’s motionless body was in the KWS vehicle, adding that the rangers threatened to beat him if he attempted to intervene.
The witness, currently serving a four-year sentence for illegal fishing, testified that on January 19, KWS rangers descended upon him and five other fishermen before ferrying them by boat to Summit, Nakuru.
He further stated that they were ordered to lie down on their stomachs after being arrested for illegal fishing. About an hour later, a green KWS vehicle arrived, and the witness said he saw a motionless man inside.
According to the witness, Odhiambo was dressed in black shorts with white stripes, shirtless, and barefoot.
Moments later, the witness said that a ranger signalled to his colleagues that the man inside the vehicle had died.
A second witness held in Nyandarua corroborated the story, with both witnesses positively identifying Odhiambo from photographs, pointing out the six rangers accused of his abduction.
So far, six KWS officers have been arrested in connection with Odhiambo’s disappearance, with the final prosecution witness set to testify at the scene of Odhiambo’s alleged abduction on November 10, as the case nears its close.
