Meshack Yebei
The Tsavo National Park, Kenya’s largest game conservancy covering over 21,000 square kilometres is arguably one of the country’s major tourism resources.
But Tsavo has in numerous occasions seen the spotlight for being used as a dumping ground for the dead who on numerous occasions end up there mysteriously.
In 2015, a crucial witness in the International Criminal Court case against Deputy President William Ruto was found murdered and dumped in the park.
Meshack Yebei mysteriously disappeared and his body later found dumped at a thicket near Man Eaters in the Tsavo East National park.
Muslim clerics and other government critics have in the past been found dumped at the same place days after their disappearances and the government has never dug deeper into the cause of their deaths.
In a past shocking incident, at the same Kanga area where six bodies were found decomposing, five bodies were found there and when they were collected and taken to Makindu mortuary, one person was found to be alive. He was taken back to the wards for treatment but in a bizarre incident armed men dashed in and shot him dead.
In the latest incidence, six unidentified men have been found in Tsavo National Park by rangers on patrol with a Human rights organization blaming police officers over the shocking incident.
According to a police report, two rangers from Tsavo West National Park who were on mobile patrol on Tuesday encountered a foul smell and upon checking, they found the decomposing bodies of six men, a kilometre from the main Nairobi-Mombasa highway.
Muslims for Human Rights (Muhuri) executive director Khelef Khalifa
The NGO termed this as extra-judicial killing that might be planned and executed by police officers mostly from the coast region and the bodies ferried there for wild animals to feed on.
A police source who visited the scene told Nation in confidence that the bodies are of young men of Somali origin.
This was corroborated by a hospital official.
“We highly suspect that these people were killed by police agents. Kenyan police killed them,” said Francis Auma, Rapid Response Officer, Muslim for Human Rights (Muhuri).
The killing prompted officers from Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Mtito-Andei to visit the scene where they found the bodies which were thrown separately from each other.
The report also indicated that the people could have been killed elsewhere and bodies dumped at the park something that Muhuri says is the true picture as per what has happened before.
However, no identification documents were found at the scene. Police report from Mtito-Andei police station had contradictions on how many bodies were discovered, and which mortuary they were taken to. Police in their report said that they collected six bodies but an inside source said ten bodies were collected at the scene.
Kibwezi police boss Ben Chagulo was reached for a comment flatly refused to speak on several instances.
Makueni County Commissioner Maalim Mohammed couldn’t utter a word. He strictly wanted KWS headquarters to give a statement on the matter.
Paul Masela, KWS communication officer confirmed only six bodies found in the park.
Spot check by The Standard at Makindu hospital mortuary where police claimed they had taken the bodies found none. However, our sources confirmed that the bodies were lying in the City mortuary-Nairobi due to their current state, and lack of mortuary space at Makindu which holds only 14 bodies.
The human rights organization now wants an inquest to be opened to determine the causes of the present, and past deaths.