Postmortem on seven bodies exhumed in Mwingi set for next week

Police officers supervise exhumation of bodies at a suspected mass grave outside Mwingi town. Four bodies, all male, were exhumed from the site on June 9, 2026. [Philip Muasya, Standard]

A postmortem on the seven unknown bodies that were exhumed in Mwingi will be conducted in Nairobi next week, an official at the City Mortuary has said.

The bodies of six men and one female were transported from Kitui County to Nairobi following the bizarre discovery, even as detectives continue looking for leads.

Officials at the facility in Nairobi said the four bodies were not badly disintegrated while three were decomposed beyond recognition and hard to identify.

“From what we suspect, the bodies were first taken to Mwingi morgue before being buried but detectives are still on the ground for thorough investigations,” an attendant said.

Adding, “next week a postmortem will be conducted on the bodies, specially for samples to be collected to simplify the identification process for those who will show up to claim them.”  

The official added that some people had camped at the city morgue looking for their relatives who went missing in Mombasa and Machakos.

During the exhumation in Mwingi, it was observed that the bodies had also been cautiously folded at the arms and legs to fit into the small, shallow graves.

On Friday, Kitui governor Julius Malombe said that mysterious deaths had caused panic among the county residents, but assured that the mystery would be resolved soon.

“We are working closely with security agencies and other relevant institutions to unravel the mysterious discovery of bodies in Mwingi. So far, there is no indication that the victims are from Kitui county," the governor said.

The latest discovery was made on June 8 after information emerged about suspected human remains buried in shallow graves opposite Mwingi Catholic Church along the Mwingi-Garissa Highway.

A multi-agency team later recovered four bodies, all male, from the site.

The recovery followed earlier discoveries in Kanginga area, where three other human remains were found between April and May, including a severed female head.

The grim findings have heightened fear and anxiety among residents of the town.

“Detailed forensic examinations and post-mortem procedures will assist investigators in establishing the identities of the deceased and the circumstances surrounding their deaths,” the governor said.