The unanswered questions in Kericho mass grave mystery
Rift Valley
By
Julius Chepkwony and Nikko Tanui
| Mar 24, 2026
Police guard Kericho Public Cemetery as probe into alleged secret burials continues. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) are racing against time to unravel a chilling mystery surrounding a suspected mass grave at Makaburini Cemetery in Kericho County.
Chief Inspector Peter Kamau, a police officer attached to the DCI Homicide Investigations Bureau, in an affidavit filed in court seeking detention of two suspects, outlined a series of critical unanswered questions investigators must answer as they probe possible offences arising from the burial.
David Araka Makori, A Nyamira County Hospital official, and cemetery caretaker Richard Towett, alias Ezekiel, have been arrested and are under investigation.
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The investigations stem from reports that about 12 bodies and a gunny bag containing mutilated human remains were secretly buried at the cemetery on March 20, 2026, under unclear circumstances.
Preliminary findings, according to the police, have exposed glaring inconsistencies, including conflicting accounts on the number of bodies interred and suspected forged court documents allegedly used to authorise the burials.
Among the key questions DCI is seeking to verify is whether the authenticity of the two court orders Araka and Towett provided to the police.
Homicide detectives led by Martin Nyuguto probe burial of 14 unidentified bodies at Kericho cemetery. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]
The orders were allegedly issued to authorise the disposal and burial of bodies from Nyamira Teaching and Referral Hospital. The orders presented by the suspects, according to the DCI, differ in the number of bodies permitted for burial.
“Preliminary investigations have established discrepancies between the number of the deceased persons disclosed by the respondents, the reportees and the suspected altered or forged court orders give an inference of efforts to conceal evidence on offences under investigations,” read the affidavit in part.
The DCI noted that upon arrest of Towett, a search was conducted at his homestead in Makaburini area leading to the recovery of correspondences citing various interment records with keen interest drawn to a ruling and or order dated March 17, 2026 purportedly issued by a court granting orders for the removal and disposal by burial of seven bodies from Nyamira Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary and to be interred in a public cemetery within Kericho County.
Detectives note that following an interview with Araka to shed light on the said interment, he purported to have obtained court orders towards the disposal of 13 bodies in a ruling dated March 17, 2026, from the said hospital mortuary.
While the suspects cited seven and 13 bodies in the respective court orders, witnesses, mainly casual grave diggers, claim they buried 12 bodies and a sack of dismembered human parts, raising concerns of possible concealment.
A major focus of the probe is also to establish the cause of death of the recovered human remains, the identities of the victims, and to trace the handling of the bodies.
At least six grave diggers were hired to dig the mass grave where multiple bodies were later interred under unclear circumstances.
The workers said they were paid Sh1,000 each for the task.
The grave diggers said they took up the job purely for the money, as they did not suspect anything unusual at the time, especially after noticing that the vehicle used appeared to be a government (GK) vehicle.