The management of Nyamira County Referral Hospital is being questioned on how 21 infant bodies were removed from the facility and buried in Kericho County without official records.
Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Mohamed Amin revealed that while hospital records confirm 46 infants died at the facility and bodies were moved to the morgue, there is no documentation explaining how nearly half of them were disposed of. This revelation adds a twist to the ongoing investigation into the secret burial of 33 bodies and six body parts at Makaburini Cemetery in Kericho County on March 20.
"A court order in Nyamira authorised the disposal of 13 unclaimed bodies—consisting of eight adults, one child, three fetuses, and twin stillbirths. However, it turned out that 33 bodies and six body parts were actually buried in the mass grave,” Mr Amin said.
The investigation highlights a significant gap in accountability. In the Kericho incident, 25 fetuses were found in the mass grave, but investigators say another 21 infant remains unaccounted for. Out of the 25 children whose remains were exhumed, the hospital had legal authorisation to dispose of only four; the remaining 21 were disposed of illegally.
"Records at the Nyamira County Referral Hospital show that 46 infants died in the wards and were taken to the morgue. However, morgue records do not reflect how they were disposed of," Mr Amin noted during an update on Tuesday following a tour of the Kericho cemetery.
Mohamed Amin, the DCI Director, Mohamed Amin, speaking to journalists at the Makaburini cemetery in Kericho when he toured it on March 31, 2026 in the backdrop of exhaustion of 33 bodies and six body parts.
Photo credit: Vitalis Kimutai|Nation Media Group
Six suspects were initially arrested in connection with the illegal disposal. While three have been released pending further investigation, Jason Macharia (Mortician), David Araka Makori (Public Health Official), and Richard Towett (Cemetery Caretaker) remain in custody.
To establish identities, DNA samples have been extracted from the eight adults and the recovered body parts. Investigators are also scrutinizing hospital records to verify if the recovered limbs match documented surgical amputations. Handwritten records recovered from the hospital suggest that five lower limbs and two upper limbs were authorized for disposal between 2025 and early 2026.
CCTV footage recovered from the mortuary has identified a government vehicle, registration GKA 549L, as the transport used to move the remains to Kericho. According to the DCI, the chief mortician supervised the loading of the remains onto the vehicle.
The DCI is also investigating the role of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) and the caretaker, Richard Towett. Authorities are reviewing land registration documents to confirm if the Council owns the land and if it is legally registered as a cemetery.
"The remains left the hospital mortuary under unclear circumstances in a case of irregular disposal, with all remains originating from the Nyamira County Referral Hospital," Mr Amin stated. He characterised the exhumation of bodies beyond the legally authorised number as a clear case of criminal activity intended to conceal potential misconduct.
The bodies lacked formal mortuary tags, proper identification, and documentation. Lead government pathologist DrRichard Njoroge reported that five of the exhumed bodies—four children and one adult—showed signs of head injuries.
Dr Njoroge noted that while severe decomposition made gender identification impossible for some remains, others showed causes of death ranging from severe pneumonia and hypertensive heart conditions to severe infections compounded by leg fractures and pulmonary embolisms (blood clots in the lungs).
