Bodies have been found dumped in a cemetery in Trinidad and Tobago. About 32 bodies, mostly children, have been dug up from a mass grave in Kericho, Kenya. Police in Trinidad and Tobago said 56 bodies - mainly of infants - were found at one of the country's cemeteries on Saturday.
The bodies in Trinidad and Tobago were found at a cemetery in the town of Cumuto on Trinidad, approximately 40km (25 miles) east of the capital, Port of Spain, according to multiple reports. Five of the adults in the case had toe tags, such as those found in morgues, and a man's and a woman's body had signs of an autopsy, police said. Police in Trinidad and Tobago are working to determine the origin of the human remains and any associated breaches of law or procedure.
What they found was 'quite unusual' with bodies 'stacked in gunny bags'.
A preliminary investigation shows it may be a case of an 'unlawful disposal of unclaimed corpses', according to police statements. Police commissioner Allister Guevarro said in a statement that every cadaver must be handled with dignity and lawful care, and any individual or institution found to have violated that duty will be held fully accountable. The US state department has issued several travel advisories for Trinidad and Tobago since the state of emergency was issued on March 2, due to crime and 'a heightened risk of terrorism', multiple reports indicate.
The US state department advisory said that although violent crime in Trinidad and Tobago has dropped greatly since 2024 due to security efforts started during the previous state of emergencies, crime remains a challenge throughout the country. The Washington Post wrote about the incident in Trinidad and Tobago, according to official sources. The exhumation in Kericho, Kenya, was done after police obtained a court order to retrieve 14 bodies initially believed to have been buried at the site.
There were 'seven adults and 25 children', with the children being infants and foetuses.
The exhumation followed a tip-off from a whistleblower, according to research by Aftonbladet. A number of body parts were also retrieved in the Kericho, Kenya, case, multiple reports indicate. Government pathologist Richard Njoroge said what they found was 'quite unusual' with bodies 'stacked in gunny bags'.
Njoroge said there were 'seven adults and 25 children' in the case, with the children being infants and foetuses. Njoroge noted that the adult remains were highly decomposed, with those of the children less so, indicating they died at different times. Njoroge said some of the bodies appeared to have originated from hospitals and mortuaries but that would be further determined after autopsies.
Some of the bodies appeared to have originated from hospitals and mortuaries but that would be further determined after autopsies.
Two suspects, a public health officer from Nyamira and a cemetery caretaker, have been arrested in connection with the Kericho, Kenya, case, with others being questioned. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said their initial findings indicated that 13 unclaimed bodies had officially been released from a hospital in neighbouring Nyamira county and transported to Kericho for burial last Friday. The DCI said it was investigating whether there was any criminal activity besides the reported irregularities in the burial process.
A post-mortem examination in the Kericho, Kenya, case is expected to begin on Wednesday, according to multiple reports. Outgoing Law Society of Kenya president Faith Odhiambo said that identification of these victims must be done as soon as possible. Human rights group Vocal Africa said the discovery in Kericho, Kenya, was a 'staggering and horrific escalation that exposes the true scale of this tragedy'.
The adult remains were highly decomposed, with those of the children less so, indicating they died at different times.
Vocal Africa said that with reports of mutilation and dismemberment among the remains, the discovery points to a level of violence that demands immediate, transparent investigation and national accountability. The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) denied links to the burial in Kericho, Kenya, saying it was conducted without their approval. The discovery in Kericho, Kenya, comes after hundreds of bodies were found in a remote forest in 2023 near the coastal city of Malindi in one of the country's worst cases of cult-related mass deaths, multiple reports indicate.
The discovery was a 'staggering and horrific escalation that exposes the true scale of this tragedy'.
With reports of mutilation and dismemberment among the remains, the discovery points to a level of violence that demands immediate, transparent investigation and national accountability.
Although violent crime in Trinidad and Tobago has dropped greatly since 2024 due to security efforts started during the previous state of emergencies, crime remains a challenge throughout the country.