Bodies of two men tortured and murdered found in Kilifi's Gede forest

Yellow crime scene do not cross barrier tape in front of defocused background. [Courtesy, iStockphoto]

The two men whose bodies were discovered dumped by the roadside at Gede Forest along the Malindi–Kilifi highway on Saturday have been positively identified by their families.

According to a police report, the first victim has been identified as Ruben Athman Dzuya, 39, a resident of Kwa Bullo Village in Nyali Sub-County, Mombasa County.

His body was identified by his wife, Lucia Tumu. The family said that Dzuya was picked up by unknown people from his house on Friday evening.

The second victim is Abu Mohammed Salim, 36, a resident of Mwalewa Village, Lunga Lunga Location, Vanga Ward in Kwale County. His body was identified by his nephew, Athman Said.

Salim’s body was blindfolded and had visible torture marks, with blood oozing from the mouth and nose.

The bodies were discovered dumped along the roadside near Gede, sending shockwaves across the coastal region. Preliminary findings had indicated that both victims sustained deep cut wounds to the throat.

The bodies were each on opposite sides of the highway when they were discovered on Saturday.

The police further said that the scene was undisturbed, implying that there was no struggle at the scene.

It is suspected by the police that the two unknown individuals were murdered elsewhere, and their bodies were brought and dumped at the scene, police said.

Police confirmed that relatives of the deceased have recorded statements to assist with investigations. A postmortem examination is scheduled to establish the exact cause of death.

Authorities have assured the public that efforts are underway to apprehend those responsible for the brutal killings.

A group of activists who visited the scene has demanded a probe into the murder. They said the scene was the latest to be reported amid fears of abduction and murder.

“From the look of things, it looks like these two were severely tortured before being killed and dumped by the roadside. It's very worrying to wake up and see dead bodies by the highway," said Hussein Khalid, Executive Director, Vocal Africa.

'It's extremely concerning, and we are hoping that action will be taken soon so that we can confirm what truly transpired that led to the deaths of these two,' Khalid added.

Vocal Africa Coast Regional Coordinator Walid Sketty has called for a speedy investigation into the matter to apprehend the perpetrators.

''We are calling upon the security officers and the intelligence to work around the clock so that we get to know what the reasons are behind these deaths and many other deaths that we have been seeing in the coast region in the past few months,'' he said.