In Kenya, about 32 bodies, mostly children, have been dug up from a mass grave in Kericho, while in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, the bodies of 50 infants and 6 adults were found dumped at a cemetery. The Kericho discovery comes after hundreds of bodies were found in a remote forest in 2023 near Malindi in one of Kenya's worst cases of cult-related mass deaths, according to multiple reports. The exhumation in Kericho was done after police obtained a court order to retrieve 14 bodies initially believed buried at the site. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said initial findings indicated 13 unclaimed bodies had officially been released from a hospital in neighbouring Nyamira county and transported to Kericho for burial last Friday. The DCI is investigating whether there was any criminal activity besides reported irregularities in the burial process in Kericho.
Initial findings from the Kericho site revealed gruesome details, with a number of body parts also retrieved during the exhumation process. There were reports of mutilation and dismemberment among the remains in Kericho, according to research sources. The exhumation in Kericho followed a tip-off from a whistleblower, according to research. A post-mortem examination in Kericho is expected to begin on Wednesday, according to multiple reports.
Two suspects, a public health officer from Nyamira and a cemetery caretaker, have reportedly been arrested in Kenya, with others being questioned. It is not clear how the bodies came to be buried at the site in Kericho that belongs to the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK). The identities of the victims found in Kericho remain unknown, and authorities have not specified the specific hospitals or mortuaries from which the bodies originated. Whether criminal charges will be filed against the suspects arrested in Kenya and if others are involved is still under investigation.
In Trinidad and Tobago, located in the Caribbean, the discovery at a cemetery involved remains from all but one of the adults found having labels with identification details on them, according to multiple reports. Some of the remains found in Trinidad and Tobago had signs that autopsies had been performed, according to multiple reports. The motive behind the illegal dumping of bodies in Trinidad and Tobago and who is responsible remain unknown.