Police in Kenya exhume at least 33 bodies from a mass grave

KERICHO, Kenya (AP) — Authorities in western Kenya said Thursday they have exhumed at least 33 bodies from a mass grave, and the remains were believed to have been transferred there from a hospital morgue.

Homicide detectives exhumed the remains of eight adults and 25 children as well as dismembered body parts packed in gunny sacks from a mass grave at a church-owned cemetery in the town of Kericho, according to authorities.

“We were able to establish that these were bodies transferred from Nyamira District Hospital to a private cemetery in Kericho," Mohamed Amin, the head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, told reporters.

Amin said detectives want to find out whether the bodies were disposed legally after being removed from a morgue.

Under Kenyan law, hospitals and morgues are required to dispose bodies that are unclaimed for more than 14 days. The process requires authorization by court order.

Government pathologists conducted autopsies on Thursday to determine the cause of death. The bodies' identities have not been revealed.

At least two people have been arrested.

Local media reported that unidentified people brought the bodies from elsewhere in a vehicle belonging to the government and hurriedly buried them. Some of the gravediggers are said to have alerted the police.

“We need authorities to conduct a thorough investigation,” said resident Brian Kibunja.

Another local, Samuel Moso, said authorities should “reveal if the government was involved or if a different group of people was behind the mass burial.”

This is the third major mass-grave incident in Kenya over the last three years.

In 2023 police uncovered hundreds of bodies buried in a forest in the Kenyan coastal region of Kilifi. The bodies were exhumed from mass graves linked to a religious leader who starved his followers to death.

In 2024, authorities recovered 9 bodies from a dumpsite in Nairobi, the capital.

The latest discovery coincides with growing concern among some Kenyans over rights abuses allegedly perpetrated by the police.

Missing Voices, a human rights group, has documented 125 extrajudicial killings and 6 enforced disappearances over the last year in Kenya. The number of reported extrajudicial killings was 104 the previous year.

Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) forensic staff inspect the scene of a mass grave where 33 bodies were exhumed at a cemetery in Kericho, Western Kenya Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) forensic staff inspect the scene of a mass grave where 33 bodies were exhumed at a cemetery in Kericho, Western Kenya Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) forensic staff inspect the scene of a mass grave where 33 bodies were exhumed at a cemetery in Kericho, Western Kenya Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

People gather at the scene of a mass grave where 33 bodies were exhumed at a cemetery in Kericho, Western Kenya Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) forensic staff inspect the scene of a mass grave where 33 bodies were exhumed at a cemetery in Kericho, Western Kenya Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A bus carrying about 50 people plunged into a major river in central Bangladesh as it was driving onto a ferry, leaving at least 26 people dead, authorities said Thursday.

The bus plunged into the Padma River on Wednesday afternoon in Rajbari district, about 84 kilometers (52 miles) from the capital, Dhaka, said fire official Dewan Sohel Rana.

Sultana Akhter, local top government administrator, said that at least 26 people were killed in the accident. She said that authorities were handing over the bodies to their families on Thursday.

The bus was traveling to the capital from the southwestern district of Kushtia as people return to work after the Islamic festival of Eid al-Fitr.

Rana said many of the passengers swam to safety after the accident but others got trapped.

A rescue vessel joined the operation late Wednesday and lifted the bus, he said, and rescuers worked overnight to recover bodies. Strong currents and rains disrupted the rescue operations overnight, he said.

It was not clear if there was still anyone missing.

Eleven women and five children were among the dead, according to the Fire Service and Civil Defense Department.

Thousands of people die each year in road accidents in Bangladesh.

People try to recognize their dead relatives at Rajbari Government Hospital, the day after a passenger bus plunged into the Padma river while boarding a ferry in Rajbari district, about 84 kilometers (52 miles) from the capital Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo)

Relatives of victims break down at Rajbari Government Hospital, the day after a passenger bus plunged into the Padma river while boarding a ferry in Rajbari district, about 84 kilometers (52 miles) from the capital Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo)