The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) says 15 bodies linked to the River Yala killings were buried unclaimed. At a press briefing on Tuesday, the authority said DNA testing identified only 10 of the 25 victims, Citizen Digital reported. Those 10 bodies were released to their families for burial.
IPOA Chairperson Dr. Duncan Ojwang said the authority investigated all 25 cases, ran DNA tests and matched the remains to 10 families. He said DNA samples from the unidentified victims have been preserved for possible identification later. IPOA urged anyone with information about the victims to come forward.
The authority sent its findings to the Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims after the panel requested information on the killings. Ojwang said the panel had now received "the IPOA independent account on what happened to the victims." According to IPOA, 10 families are seeking compensation. The other 15 cases followed a different process.
IPOA had earlier forwarded its investigation file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). The ODPP reviewed the file and directed that it be handed to police for further investigation.
Panel chairperson Prof. Makau Mutua said the panel had processed 1,392 claims. These include 236 deaths, 700 injury cases ranging from severe to mild, 140 claims for economic losses and 16 cases of sexual violence. He rejected claims that the panel had compensated only one victim. The figures, he said, reflected the work already done.
Mutua said the government has a duty to protect everyone's safety. Kenya, he added, has at times failed in that duty. "No country is innocent of human rights violations; what distinguishes responsible states is what they do after the violations," he said. He noted that the president had tasked the panel with investigating, documenting and verifying abuses during protests.
Bodies turned up in River Yala, Siaya County, over several years. The discoveries raised concerns about extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. They also prompted calls to investigate possible links to security agencies. The panel is now moving towards wrapping up its work on protest-related claims.