Body recovered in Tsavo belongs to Meshack Yebei, Government chemist reveals

Meshack Yebei’s family has set his burial for Saturday, March 14.

Eldoret, Kenya: The Government Chemist Monday revealed that the body recovered at Tsavo National Park is that of Meshack Yebei, a crucial witness in the International Criminal Court case against Deputy President William Ruto.

The CID officer tasked with the investigation, John Kariuki, confirmed that DNA tests on samples showed a 99.9 per cent match. This validates a separate test done in South Africa last week by a private pathologist contracted by the family.

“We shall be consulting with family and concerned stakeholders to decide when to perform a postmortem before releasing the body,” said Kariuki.

The family scheduled the burial for Saturday, March 14 after the independent DNA tests proved positive.

Sunday, the family issued the government with a 3-day ultimatum to release the body saying that it was subjecting them to more pain even after confirming that body belonged to their kin.

The family threatened to camp at Voi mortuary where the body is lying until it is released, saying the government has been unwilling to announce the DNA test results.

The announced now brings to an end the family’s anxiety over the fate of their missing kin as they can now give him a decent send off.

“I have never slept since the disappearance of my son and the discovery of his body gave me hope that I will finally lay him to rest, but the government's slow pace has become a worry to me, why don't they expedite the process and let me bury him in peace?” wondered Yebei’s father Lazaro Kisorio on Sunday.

The body has been lying at the morgue since December 30, 2014, two days after Meshack mysteriously disappeared and his body later found dumped at a thicket near Man Eaters in the Tsavo East National park.