Nyamira Governor Amos Nyaribo has clarified that his county is not connected to the discovery of 33 bodies, stating they only sent 13 bodies to Kericho for burial and are unaware of the origins of the remaining 20.
In a press conference on Sunday, March 29, the governor addressed the Kericho mass grave situation for the first time, confirming that they had obtained court orders for the disposal of their 13 bodies. He explained that while it is customary for the county to transfer bodies to Kericho, the team responsible for this task, after receiving Ksh32,000 from the county, opted to engage a private cemetery instead of the designated county facility.
Expressing his disappointment, the governor emphasized the county’s lack of knowledge regarding the additional 20 bodies and urged for a prompt investigation into the mass grave incident to uncover the truth.
“There were 13 bodies designated for disposal from Nyamira, and we adhered to the proper procedures. We secured court orders and provided funds to Kericho County, but unfortunately, the funds were misappropriated, leading to arrangements with a private cemetery for disposal,” he stated.
Regarding the forensic analysis, the investigation into the 33 bodies found at Makaburini Cemetery has revealed distressing details about the victims’ final moments. Government pathologist Dr. Richard Njoroge reported that, of the 25 victims examined so far, all are children of various ages, including premature infants and full-term babies.
The pathology team successfully identified the gender of most children, finding 10 girls and 8 boys. However, due to significant decomposition of several remains, they could not determine the gender of 7 victims.
“They were in different stages of decomposition; only a few remained relatively fresh. Many were severely decomposed. In terms of age, some were premature, while others were full-term children. We identified eight as male and ten as female, but we could not determine the gender of the remaining seven,” Dr. Njoroge explained.
In response, Kericho leaders, led by Senator Aaron Cheruiyot, have expressed concern over the lack of communication from Nyamira officials regarding the situation. He questioned why the governor and his senator have not provided more information about the mass grave and raised concerns about the ownership of the cemetery, which he claims belongs to the NCCK.
