Fresh twist as Nyamira Governor Nyaribo distances himself from county officials arrested over Kericho mass grave

The discovery of 33 bodies buried at a Kericho cemetery (when a court had only authorised 13) has placed Nyamira County under national scrutiny.

With six arrests now made, Governor Amos Nyaribo has moved to distance himself from the county health officers at the centre of the scandal.

Nyamira County has no public cemetery.

When unclaimed bodies accumulate at Nyamira County Referral Hospital's mortuary, the hospital has relied on transferring them to Kericho for burial.

On February 10, 2026, Medical Superintendent David Araka Makori issued a public notice on behalf of the hospital, alerting families of unclaimed bodies to come forward within 14 days or the remains would be disposed of due to congestion.

A follow-up notice went out on February 16. No families responded.

The bodies were then transported to Makaburini Cemetery in central Kericho, a facility owned by the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK).

Youths were paid Sh1,000 each to dig a mass grave, and a further Sh1,000 each to receive and bury the bodies, which arrived in body bags, some containing dismembered remains.

The NCCK was not informed.

Neither were Kericho County authorities, local administrators, nor police.

On March 21, 2026, gravediggers at the cemetery stumbled on the site and reported it to Kericho Police Station.

Homicide detectives secured the scene the following day and obtained a court order for exhumation.

On March 24, investigators unearthed 33 bodies from a single grave: 25 children and 8 adults.

Documents obtained by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) show that the hospital had sought court clearance for only 13 bodies, which were eight adults, one child, three foetuses, and a set of stillborn twins.

Thirty-three were buried.

A photocopied court order found at the cemetery caretaker's home listed only seven bodies, and the DCI has since questioned the authenticity of the court documents used altogether.

Post-mortem results showed that four children died from head injuries and 10 from complications of premature birth.

Among the eight adults, causes of death included pneumonia, septicaemia, advanced heart disease, pulmonary thromboembolism, and choking combined with head trauma.

Two cases remain undetermined.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, speaking on March 28, 2026, confirmed that six people had been arrested.

David Araka Makori, the hospital's medical superintendent, is in custody alongside Richard Towet.

A third suspect, Jason Machoru Nyarabi, was subsequently arrested and a Kericho court granted investigators 25 days to detain him.

Murkomen pointed to possible collusion between Nyamira County health officials and the Makaburini Cemetery caretaker.

"What happened is unacceptable. There was a court order specifying the number of bodies to be disposed of. It was not supposed to happen in darkness," he said.

Governor Nyaribo has placed responsibility on his county's health officers, framing the operation as their doing rather than a decision authorised by county leadership.

He has not publicly explained how an exercise involving multiple officials, vehicle logistics, court orders, and payments to gravediggers proceeded without oversight from his office.

The KHRC has called for an independent investigation to determine whether the undocumented 20 bodies are linked to enforced disappearances or extrajudicial killings.

It has also demanded DNA testing to identify all victims.

Nyamira County, meanwhile, still has no public cemetery.