Kenya’s police watchdog has said it was investigating whether there is any police involvement in the gruesome discovery on July 12 in Mukuru in the south of the capital.
The Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) is also looking into claims of abductions of demonstrators who went missing after widespread anti-government protests.
Kenyan media reports said on July 13 that more bags containing human remains had been recovered by police from rubbish-strewn waters at a rubbish site in an abandoned quarry.
On July 12, police said the severely mutilated bodies of six women tied up in plastic bags were found in the dump site, causing shock and anger among locals.
The IPOA said later that the remains of at least nine people had been recovered, seven of them female.
“The bodies, wrapped in bags and secured by nylon ropes, had visible marks of torture and mutilation,” it said, noting that the dumpsite was less than 100m from a police station.
Kenyan police are already under sharp scrutiny after dozens of people were killed during the demonstrations last month, with a rights group accusing officers of using excessive force.
National police chief Japhet Koome, the target of much public anger over the protest deaths, has resigned after less than two years in the post, Kenya’s presidency announced on July 12.
His is the latest head to roll as President William Ruto scrambles to contain the worst crisis of his rule, triggered by deeply unpopular proposed tax hikes.
Crowds that gathered on July 12 at the dump site were chanting “Ruto must go”, the slogan of the wave of protests led by young Gen-Z Kenyans.
Kenyan police are feared and face frequent allegations of extrajudicial killings but are seldom convicted.
“As the police investigations unfold, IPOA is keenly independently undertaking preliminary inquiries to establish whether there was any police involvement in the deaths, or failure to act to prevent them,” the agency said.
In a separate statement, the IPOA also called for public help in its investigations into reports of abductions, unlawful arrests and disappearances during the anti-government protests.
It did not, however, make any link to those missing and the dumped bodies, and some people on social media have described it as an act of femicide.
The directorate of criminal investigations said preliminary investigations suggested all the victims had been killed in the same manner, without elaborating.
The office of the director of public prosecutions also highlighted the location of the bodies so close to a police station and said it was “deeply concerned” about the discoveries, “which point to a grave violation of human rights”.
It has directed the police to submit the results of its inquiry within 21 days, and also urged state agencies, including the IPOA, to expedite their investigations into reports of enforced disappearances and deaths allegedly committed by police.
“The perpetrators must be held accountable,” the non-governmental Kenyan Human Rights Commission said in a post on July 12 on X. “Kenya Kwanza regime, led by William Ruto, must take accountability for this heinous crime.”
Kenyan police are often accused by rights groups of using excessive force and carrying out unlawful killings, with officers rarely brought to justice.
They have also allegedly run hit squads targeting people such as rights activists and lawyers investigating alleged police abuses.
Kenya’s Parliament established the IPOA in 2011 to provide civilian scrutiny of a powerful institution also reputed to be among the country’s most corrupt.
Activists largely defend the IPOA’s record, saying police often frustrate investigations by refusing to cooperate.
Koome’s resignation followed Ruto’s announcement on July 11 that he was sacking almost the entire cabinet and planning to form a “broad-based government”, his latest bid to try to mollify the young protest movement.