There was a public uproar after it was reported that 19 unidentified bodies had been retrieved from River Yala in Siaya County in a span of three months.
Using the hashtag #RiverYalaBodies, Kenyans took to social media to raise concern over the reports as they asked Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai to open investigations into the matter.
The report on River Yala was first aired by human rights activist Boniface Mwangi through a social media thread on his official Twitter after he visited the River together with Hussein Khalid of Haki Africa.
Mwangi stated that they decided to visit the river after they received reports that there were many unidentified bodies that had been taken to the Yala Sub-County Hospital Mortuary after being retrieved from the river.
In one of his social media posts, the activist stated that there is need for investigations as some of the bodies were tied with ropes while others had torture marks.
He revealed that the hospital has been forced to bury numerous bodies after members of the public failed to identify them.
“On October 20, 2021, Yala Mortuary buried 9 unidentified bodies to create space in the morgue. Since then, the hospital receives at least five bodies from River Yala every month,” Mwangi posted.
While speaking to the press, Nicholas Okero, a diver who retrieves bodies at the river, revealed that the numbers were increasing on a daily basis adding he was shocked by what he had witnessed for the past three months.
Okero added that they suspected foul play stating that there had been unusual activity along the river in the wee hours of the night for the past three months. He stated that there were two unidentified vehicles that frequently made trips to the river.
“It never used to be like this. Right now we are also shocked by what is happening because some of the gunny bags are well sewed like a parcel,” the diver stated.
Okero stated that some of the bodies that had been retrieved from the river were not of residents who were known in the area.
“They are not people from here, they are brought from other places and dumped at the bridge,” he added.
On his part, Gem Sub-county Police commander, Charles Chacha, stated that they had begun their investigations after Yala residents raised concern over the incident.
