No bodies found in alleged Mandera mass graves

No bodies have been found in the presumed mass graves at Omary Jillo in Lathi Village in Mandera County.

Police on Tuesday started digging at all the graves suspected to be mass graves, but as of Wednesday, no body had been found.

The excavation exercise that started at 10 am and lasted for over two hours was witnessed by among others the Mandera county commissioner, area senator and members of Parliament.

Only one body was exhumed Tuesday after a court issued an order for the exhumation exercise.

The exercise was called off Tuesday evening after 15 sites were excavated and no bodies found.

The digging started after a ruling made by Mandera Resident Magistrate Duncan Mtai, in which the court granted the police their request to have all the graves suspected to be mass graves dug up and bodies exhumed for further investigations.

Mtai further ordered the body of Mrs Isnina Musa Sheikh exhumed after it was found in one of the graves on Monday and buried in Somalia.

On Monday, residents allegedly found mass graves in the area, raising fears of fresh cases of extra-judicial killings in Northern Kenya.

The discovery prompted the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNHRC) to send an investigative team to Mandera County to probe the claims of fresh extra judicial killings in the area.

KNHCR CEO Patricia Nyaundi said the fresh claims of extra judicial killings in Mandera County come days before they release a report on similar cases in Wajir County.

On Monday, police spokesman Charles Owino said only one body had been identified and denied reports that the deceased was arrested by KDF soldiers.

“She was reported as missing but the relatives did not indicate that she was arrested by the KDF soldiers,” he said.