River Yala bodies recovered in two years, police say
A view of Ndanu falls on River Yala in 2015.
The National Police Service has disputed the period within which 19 bodies have been retrieved from River Yala in Siaya County.
In a statement, the National Police Service spokesperson Bruno Isohi Shioso maintained that the 19 had been retrieved from the river in the last two years contrary to the admission by the Yala Sub-county hospital, which confirmed that they were retrieved in the past few months.
"This number presents a cumulative body count over two years contrary to media reports insinuating all the incidences were a recent occurrence," said Mr Shioso.
Usually, the unclaimed bodies are disposed of by the health facility after six months after attempts to claim them fail, putting to question how the 19 could have lasted that long.
Assist with further investigations
At the same time, NPS has dispatched a special forensic investigations team to Yala to speed up the identification of 19 unclaimed bodies retrieved from River Yala.
Mr Shioso said the team from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters had been dispatched to the scene at Yala River and the Yala Sub County level four hospital to assist with further investigations.
Mr Shioso claimed that no one has so far claimed any of the bodies that are lying at Yala Sub County level four Hospital, despite repeated appeals to the public.
The team comes a few months after another from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations was appointed and tasked with investigations that have been ongoing on the incidences.
