Three bodies discovered in the same Nyeri locality where five were found last year

Members of the public congregate at the scene of crime where three unidentified bodies with gunshot wounds were discovered in Tagwa, near Sagana State Lodge in Nyeri County Monday. [PHOTO: KIBATA KIHU/STANDARD]

NYERI: The bodies of three men were found lying next to each other along the Chaka-Sagana State Lodge road, near Maragima, Nyeri County.

The bodies were discovered in a blood splattered scene within the expansive Mt Kenya Forest, an indication that the three could have been shot at that spot by their assailants.

No identification documents were recovered from the bodies, making it impossible for police and residents to identify the three men.

Kieni East OCPD Michael Mbaluku said preliminary investigations indicated that the men could have been picked elsewhere before being taken to the forest and executed.

Mr Mbaluku said early Monday, the public had discovered a burning motorcycle near Chaka township.

UNCLAIMED MOTORCYCLE

"They reported the matter but nobody has come out to claim it. We suspect the motorcycle could have a connection with the deceased," said Mbaluku.

Police also recovered seven spent bullets at the scene, which Mbaluku said police could not immediately link with the type of firearm they were fired from.

A local resident, Nancy Wangare, said she was going to fetch firewood from the Tagwa section of Mt Kenya Forest, alongside her son and three other neighbours, when they bumped into the bodies.

"As we approached the scene, we spotted three men who appeared to be sleeping in the open ground, and what came to our minds was that they were drunkards. We advanced and discovered the scene was full of blood, and we also discovered a used bullet," said Ms Wangare.

The women reported to the village elder who called in the local chief and police.

At the scene, the spent cartridges were scattered within a radius of about four metres, while one body lay a metre from the other two. Two of the bodies, next to each other, were facing the ground. 

The scene also seemed trampled upon, an indication that the three might have struggled with their killers before they were shot dead.

The bodies were moved to Nyeri Provincial General Hospital mortuary awaiting post-mortem and identification. Police said investigations had been launched.

PAST KILLINGS

In April last year, five bodies were found dumped in Tagwa, about one kilometre from the scene of Monday’s killings.

The bodies of four men had bullet injuries, while the fifth victim, a woman, was found dangling from a tree, a distance from where the men were found.

Although police denied involvement in the murders, investigations revealed that the deceased were arrested by police as they left a bar in Ruring'u, where they were watching soccer, only for their bodies to be discovered the following afternoon.

Police were accused of executing the five.