Mere coincidence? Mystery of 10 killed in pairs, dumped naked

Police carry the body of a man found dumped on the Nakuru-Kericho road in Londiani forest.  PHOTO; COURTESY

By VINCENT MABATUK

Nakuru, Kenya: In a period of two months – in February and March – more than five pairs of corpses have been collected on various roads in central Rift.

In total, 11 bodies have been collected in various locations, sparking a wave of fear and anxiety in Nakuru, Baringo, Narok and Nyandarua counties.

And although the bodies were discovered miles apart, police and relatives of the deceased are in agreement that there existed a pattern in the execution of the devious act, further raising fears that a serial killer gang could be roaming the region.

 The bodies were all naked and there is consensus that in all the cases, the victims were killed elsewhere.

On March 11, Gilbert Kimutai Chesaina and Barnabas Odhiambo Oluoch — both matatu owners —were reported missing in Nakuru. An official missing persons report was made at the Nakuru Central Police Station.

More than a week later, their bodies were found in Marere Forest at the border of Bomet and Narok counties in Longisa, more than 300km from Nakuru town, where they were reported missing. The two had Public Service Vehicles plying the Kapsabet-Nakuru route. Besides the matatu business, Chesaina and Odhiambo also sold vehicle spare parts.

Painful deaths

Relatives who visited the scene upon receiving the news positively identified the bodies. They had deep panga cuts. A third unidentified body lay besides the two.

Circumstances under which the three met their deaths and how the killers have managed to conceal their tracks remain a mystery.

Sammy Cherogony, Chesaina’s father, says the two had gone to Burnt Forest to buy a matatu engine. Unconfirmed reports indicate that Odhiambo had sold a vehicle worth Sh1.2 million prior to the ill-fated journey, while his friend is said to have left his Nakuru home with Sh300,000 to purchase the engine.

Women fetching firewood inside the forest stumbled on the bodies and alerted police at Mulot.

Speaking to The Standard on Sunday on Monday at the Nakuru War Memorial Mortuary, Cherogony said: “Those behind the killings used pangas to clear a section of the forest to allow the vehicle transporting the bodies to reverse more than 40 metres into the thicket to dump them.”

Mr Odhiambo’s throat had been slit open, and his tongue removed. Chesaina’s eyes were gouged out and his ears and limps cut off. The attackers are suspected to have used blunt objects to disfigure the victims’ faces.

According to David Kuria, the executive director of the regional Human Rights Network, the three were tortured before they were killed. “From the injuries, it is clear that those responsible were after information. Removing body parts was to force them reveal something,” he said.

“The bodies of the three were mutilated, some had their eyes gouged out. One of them was beheaded,” Chesaina’s cousin Ambrose Tarus told The Standard on Sunday.

He said he suspected the three were killed elsewhere and their bodies dumped in Marere, a section of the Mau Forest.

Elizabeth Akinyi, Odhiambo’s mother, said her son managed the family’s business after his father died in a road accident in 2011.

Questionable probe

“We do not even know how to handle the situation, the reaction by the police is questionable,” Akinyi said.

On February 13, two other bodies were found stuffed in nylon bags under a bridge in Narok. This was only a week after four others had been discovered in similar circumstances in Nakuru and Baringo counties.

Residents of Duka Moja in Narok County found the bodies of two men — believed to be aged between 40 and 45 — carefully placed under the bridge on the Narok-Mai Mahiu Road.

It is believed the victims were strangled with ropes before their bodies were stuffed in the bags. Narok police boss Peterson Maelo said the two could have been killed elsewhere and their bodies dumped in the area.

“The bodies had numerous injuries, with their hands tied together with sisal ropes. Glaring marks on their necks showed the killers strangled them before putting the bodies in the bags,” said Maelo.

The two were later identified as Geoffrey Ngugi and James Muteti – matatu touts from Kinoo in Kiambu County.

Miles away, at Kanjui-ri village in Nyandarua County, a group of women converse in low tones as they peel potatoes to prepare a meal in readiness for the burial of Samuel Macharia. A similar exercise is taking place seven kilometres away in Nyaituga village. People are gathered at Lucy Ngoiri’s homestead preparing to give a good sendoff to her 21-year-old son, Harizon Njoroge.

The bodies of Macharia and Njoroge were found dumped naked by the roadside on the Eldama Ravine–Maji Mazuri Road in Makutano on March 7.

Macharia, a bar owner at Kanjuiri centre in Ol-Kalou, was on his way to buy stock for his business in Nakuru town with Njoroge, his employee, when they were last seen alive on March 6.

Grace Njoki, Macharia’s mother, said her son had just got a phone call from his estranged wife requesting him to collect an ID card at an undisclosed place in Nakuru town. The two had separated last December.  

“Ever since the discovery of the bodies at Nakuru County mortuary, police have not recorded any statement from us, or even called us to explain the circumstances under which our sons disappeared,” said Njoki.

Numerous injuries

A postmortem examination conducted by Rift Valley Provincial Pathologist Titus Ngulungu showed that their skulls and ribs were fractured using a heavy, blunt object. There were signs of struggle. In Nakuru, naked bodies of two men were found dumped at Kibunja Bridge in Molo forest on February 5. They were later identified as a potato farmer and a shop owner from Burnt Forest area. Their relatives have since collected their bodies for burial.

On the same day, the naked bodies of a man and a woman were found at Ngoswet on the Nakuru-Eldama-Ravine Road near Muserechi.

The motive of the killings has not been established. No identification document was found on the two bodies. The bodies, which had numerous injuries, were dumped 100 metres apart, with the woman’s hands tied using her bra.

Area residents say the stretch between Ngoswet trading centre and Molo River is a favourite dumping site for murderers.  

Mogotio police boss Samson Ogero and his Molo counterpart Job Lesikinwa said the dead bodies found in their areas also had no identification documents on them. However, Ogero said one of the bodies found in Ngoswet was later identified by relatives as that of Duncan Wachira, a sawmill operator at Subukia town. He was a resident of Timboroa. 

The woman’s body, whose identity is yet to be established, is still lying at Nakuru County Mortuary.

“It is likely that the woman was a victim of circumstances. She could have witnessed the man being killed and could therefore not be spared,” said Ogero.

On the morning of February 21, naked bodies of two men were found dumped at Kiganjo area on the Ol Kalou-Njambini road. Both bodies had deep cuts on their heads.

Nyandarua County acting police commander Benjamin Onsongo said it was clear the two were killed elsewhere and their bodies dumped miles away.

In all the incidents, police are yet to arrest suspects.

Efforts to get the Nakuru County CID Commander Scavier Mbogo to comment on the killings failed after he turned down our request for an interview.

The county police commander John Koki also refused to be interviewed for this story.

But Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo told The Standard on Sunday that he was yet to get a report on the killings, promising to follow up with his officers to know what was happening and whether they had opened files on the cases.

“I have not been briefed on the cases,” he said. But when told that his officers refused to comment on the matter, Kimaiyo said they should be in a position to explain to Kenyans what was going on.

“I wonder why my officers refuse to comment on the issue yet these are very serious matters. I will follow up and get back to you,” he said.