Abandoned quarries turned into death chambers

By Dedan OkangaThe picturesque abandoned quarries filled with stagnant rainwater are a favourite romantic destination for picnics especially for lovers who want to escape the cacophony of the busy Eldoret town.However, the quarries’ steep and rocky precipice and deep waters discourages those on picnic from getting closer to its edges. They only rest on the grass around them. But a few daring people at times turn the waters into swimming grounds with devastating effects in some occasions. These misfortunes forced some local youths to train in deep water diving to help retrieve bodies of people who occasionally drown in these quarries.Stanley Ng’ang’a and Simon Kinuthia are two such divers who have over the years been retrieving bodies of those who drown in the quarries, most of them suicide victims.But they now say the beautiful landscape around the quarries has lately turned into a fatal attraction. At night, when there are no picnic goers, the quarries attract dangerous criminals who have turned them into a dumping ground for victims of murder. The bodies are only discovered when they float to the surface after a few days in the water.The divers recall how recently they went on a mission to retrieve the body of a man who had drowned on one of the quarries but ended up with two decomposing human bodies.It had began with a distress call from the relatives of a man who had slipped into a quarry moments earlier. The relatives thought the divers would arrive in good time and rescue their drowning relative.The two dived deep in the waters and searched for the body for what seemed like half an hour before finally they found the decaying body of a man. "We retrieved it and lifted it up to the banks where mourning family members waited. We were shocked when they said the body was not that of their kin," says Ng’ang’a.Naked bodies He says the body was swollen and partly decomposed, which made them come to the conclusion that it had been under the waters for a couple of days.The body was naked and bore marks all over. The divers suspected that the man had been killed and dumped at the quarry.As they took a dive once again to search for the body they had come for, they were aware that there were chances of bumping into yet another unfamiliar body.Criminals in Eldoret kill and dump their victims in the dams in abandoned quarries. The discovery of the bodies is now worrying residents of the increasing crime levels.Luckily, after a while they found the body they had come for and handed it over to the shocked relatives."We then called the police who took away the body. We are sure it ended up in a mass grave because nobody ever asked for a missing kin," says Ng’ang’a.Ng’ang’a recalls how on another day and at a different quarry, while on routine training on rescue skills, they were about to go back home when something unusual happened."I was practising backstroke when I bumped into something. I thought it was my colleague doing some sinking skills, but it happened that it was not him," recalls Ng’ang’a.Earlier in the day, the divers had rescued a drowning pig and so they thought that probably there could have been one more pig in the quarry.Kinuthia who was on the other side of the pool also noticed the body and the two divers began retrieving the body like they have done for several years. "We discovered that it was the body of a middle-aged man. He had nothing which we could use to identify him," says Kinuthia.Police at the nearby Baharini Police Station were called in and embarked on their usual ritual of carrying away the body to the mortuary without much ceremony.Kinuthia says this year alone they have retrieved from the quarries over 16 bodies."But the total number in the last three years is something between 50 to 60 bodies," he says.They say only a few of these bodies have been identified by relatives adding that most of those identified are victims of suicide who leave behind notes.They suspect that the other unidentified victims could be people murdered elsewhere and dumped there. Ng’ang’a says the bodies found so far are those of middle-aged men. However, he says bodies of women and children have also been retrieved from the quarries in the past."What we fail to understand is why many of the bodies we discover here are found naked. We believe they could be victims of murder," notes Ng’ang’a.They argue that it is unlikely that these people drowned while swimming since they would not go swimming in the dams alone. But police in Eldoret say they did not have statistics on the bodies retrieved from the quarries. They say most of the bodies could be those of victims of suicide and that they could be related to romantic tragedies or drowning accidents."People have drowned in quarries here. Some are drunkards while others commit suicide. It would be wrong to link these incidents to murders," says Uasin Gishu OCPD Muinde Kioko.Killer squads Residents agree that the quarries are generally hazardous and they have continued to claim lives for a long time. There is also talk of the sites being a favourite dumping site for kidnap victims. However, police insist there have been few and isolated incidents of kidnap that turn tragic. Police says it is not easy to identify a drowning victim even for family members especially after several days under the waters."The retrieved bodies are usually disfigured and many of them just end up in mass graves after overstaying at the mortuary," says a police officer who asks not to be identified since he is not authorised to speak to the media.During the 2007-2008 post election skirmishes, residents say killer squads overran villages and estates killing and kidnapping people.Many households are still crying for their missing relatives. It is suspected that some of the victims were dumped in these dams."People disappeared and mothers are still mourning their missing sons and husbands but the problem is that police do not advertise in the press when they find bodies," laments Lucas Korir, a resident. A woman in Eldoret town who lost her child during the violence now wants the divers to comb the quarries for clues.Following the discoveries, leaders and elders in Eldoret have piled pressure on Eldoret Municipal Council and Wareng County council to have the killer quarries either filled or fenced off.Veteran Narc-Kenya politician and former councillor Kipkorir Menjo says school going children and businessmen are particularly vulnerable. "The people of Eldoret are entitled to a safe environment as a basic right. We wonder why nobody thinks of fencing these places," notes Menjo.New Ford-Kenya North Rift chairman Paul Murambi says he suspects most of the victims could have been lured by their captors to the site where they are killed."Why is it that most bodies are found without identity cards or other documents? The only reason is that somebody is concealing these murders," says Murambi.Pending casesBut Eldoret Mayor William Rono says some of the quarries have pending court cases and that the council would only act after the cases are concluded."It is usually our responsibility to zone off or close up hazardous spots, but our hands are tied when there are pending court cases," says the mayor.As the death toll keeps rising over time, human rights activists and environmental lobbyists are threatening legal action on some companies that leave quarries and dams open."We shall profile all victims of these deaths and seek compensation because authorities seem to be sleeping on the job," says Ken Wafula, executive Director for the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, (CHRD).The groups also promise to put pressure on the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), to act on firms that expose residents to hazards.The quarries are isolated, and the vegetation around them is marshy and rocky and some of the victims, people say, could have met their killers as they passed the sites."They are located near shortcuts that link some estates to town but people should be warned to avoid them," said Rose Wangui a trader.

Abandoned quarries turned into death chambers

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Stand With Bold Journalism.
Stand With The Standard.

Related Topics

Popular this week

Latest Stories

The Standard Insider

Digger Classified

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT WITH US

FOR THE LATEST JOB ADVERTS

DIGGER JOBS

Digger Motors

Digger Real Estate

Abandoned quarries turned into death chambers

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Stand With Bold Journalism. Stand With The Standard.

Related Topics

Trending Now

Popular this week

Latest Stories

The Standard Insider

Digger Classified

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT WITH US

FOR THE LATEST JOB ADVERTS

Stand With Bold Journalism.
Stand With The Standard.