• Mohamed Amin said these are hypotheses the cops have tried to bring on board
• An autopsy on the bodies is planned for today to tell how the victims died, ID others
Image: TRACY MUTHONI
Detectives are pursuing three main theories in the discovery of bodies at a dumpsite in Kware, Mukuru slums, Nairobi.
Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin said as of Sunday, 10 bodies had been recovered and preserved at the City Mortuary, and all are female aged 18 to 30.
“Are we dealing with a cult that is associated with criminal activities?” he said.
“Are we dealing with serial killers who are also associated with criminal activities?
“Or even, could we be dealing with rogue medical practitioners who are dealing with criminal activities? All these are hypotheses we have tried to bring on board. ”
Whereas some of the body parts stuffed in bags were thought to be of humans, police later discovered they were dogs’ carcasses.
The motive of the murder is yet to be known.
Six were recovered on Friday, two were recovered on Saturday and two on Sunday.
The bodies were at different levels of decomposition but the victims suffered the same fate.
“The modus operandi was almost the same. If you look at the age, it was between 18-30. These are all female,” Amin said.
“If you look at how the bodies have been disguised and packaged, all the same.”
He added the bodies were dumped at a similar spot at the dumpsite.
The DCI director said police officers have had few challenges at the scene, largely thanks to rowdy members of the public who have been hostile.
He said they have interrogated a relative to one of the victims, who confirmed she went missing on June 26.
The relative, the victim's sister, told police she dreamt about the discovery of the body at the abandoned quarry before seeking the help of police and locals to get the body.
Interestingly, her dreams turned out to be true after the bodies were discovered.
The sister confirmed that Josephine Owino disappeared from Mukuru slums on June 26 and she received a call from a male person at around 9am and later disappeared, Amin said.
“She was not in any level of stress then. It was later she discovered she was missing and her body was discovered there," he said.
He said detectives are working to establish the caller and if he was behind the murder.
Like others, the body of Josephine had been dismembered and packed in a sack that was tied.
The killers chose the dumpsite because it is deep and abandoned and filled with water.
An autopsy on the bodies is planned for today to tell how the victims died and identify the others.
Amin said they will get to the bottom of the matter.
Acting Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja announced all police officers stationed at the Kware Police Station in Mukuru Slums have been transferred.
He said the officers will be replaced by a new team as investigations into the incident go on.
He made the announcement as officials continued to search for more bodies at an abandoned quarry in the sprawling area.
“I have moved officers from Kware Police Station to ensure a fair and balanced investigation,” he said.
He did not say if they are suspected to be involved.
Kanja said preliminary investigations show that all the eight bodies recovered at Kware dumpsite were female who were severely dismembered.
It will take police and investigative agencies 21 days to unravel the mystery behind dismembered bodies found in Kware dumpsite, Embakasi South constituency, Kanja said.
He made the revelations at a press conference attended by acting Deputy Inspector General of Kenya Police Eliud Lagat, his Administration Police counterpart James Kamau and other senior officers at Jogoo House.
He assured the public that investigations into the killings are ongoing, and some persons of interest have been identified.
The area has been a point of interest in the past few days, with locals flocking there to assist in retrieving the bodies.
Amin complained their presence is interfering with the crime scene and called for cooperation to unravel the mystery.
“If we interfere with the crime scene, we affect investigation outcomes. We urge for cooperation from locals to help us solve this.”
No arrest has been made so far.
The country has experienced such murder incidents but not the discovery of bodies at the same place.
Occultism is one of the most difficult crimes for detectives to solve in the country.