Officers from a police station near a rubbish dump where dismembered body parts were found have been transferred, Kenya’s acting inspector general of police said.
On Sunday, Douglas Kanja Kirocho said that so far, eight female bodies have been recovered from the site in the capital, Nairobi.
Kenya’s police watchdog previously announced it was investigating whether there was police involvement in the horrific deaths, which occurred amid allegations of widespread human rights violations by officers during recent anti-government protests.
Kirocho said officers from Kware police station were being transferred to ensure “fair and impartial investigations” into the “heinous” deaths.
Detectives have been searching the site in the Mukuru slum since Friday, when the bodies of six women were found in bags floating in a sea of rubbish.
On Saturday, another five bags containing body parts were recovered.
Preliminary reports show that the bodies were in various stages of decomposition and that the deceased were between 18 and 30 years old.
Law enforcement officials said some of the bags included severed legs and torsos, speculating that the deaths could be linked to the activities of cultists or serial killers.
But the Independent Police Oversight Authority said “widespread allegations of police involvement in illegal detentions [and] kidnappings” meant it was carrying out a preliminary investigation to establish whether there was any police connection.
Human rights groups accused the police of shooting dozens of people demonstrating against planned tax increases earlier this month, some of them fatally.
Police have also been accused of kidnapping or arbitrarily arresting hundreds of other people during the protests.
Responding to the bodies found in Mukuru, the Independent Police Oversight Authority said: “The bodies, wrapped in bags and secured by nylon ropes, had visible marks of torture and mutilation.”
The watchdog also noted that the dumping site was less than 100 meters from the Kware police station.
In contradiction to the police report, the Independent Police Oversight Authority said nine dismembered bodies were found at the Mukuru landfill – seven women and two men.
Kirocho said police were working to complete the investigation into the deaths “within 21 days.”
Local media reported that police sent two water cannons to the site on Saturday after angry protesters threatened to open the bags filled with human remains.
Officials from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) urged people to remain calm and allow them space to investigate the findings, accusing protesters of impeding their investigation.
The grisly discovery has put pressure on President William Ruto, who has promised that those responsible for the killings will be punished.
“We are a democratic country guided by the rule of law. Those involved in mysterious murders in Nairobi and any other part of the country will be held accountable,” he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The case is the latest disturbing incident of its kind in Kenya.
Last year, the country was horrified after the remains of hundreds of people associated with a doomsday cult were discovered in the Indian Ocean coastal town of Malindi.
Paul Nthenge Mackenzie stood trial in Mombasa earlier this week on charges of terrorism and murder for the deaths of more than 440 of his followers. He denies the accusations.
He allegedly encouraged men, women and children to starve to “find Jesus” in one of the world’s worst cult-related massacres.
