Dismembered bodies discovered at Kenya dump
Police in Kenya said they discovered five bags containing the mutilated remains of several women at a waste dump in the capital Nairobi on Saturday. Detectives have been combing in the Mukuru slum since Friday when the bodies of six other women were discovered in sacks floating in a sea of garbage.
Officers claimed the bags seized on Saturday contained chopped legs and two torsos, raising the possibility that the fatalities were the work of cults or serial killers. However, the country’s police watchdog announced on Friday that it was looking into whether there was any police participation in the heinous killings, which come amid allegations of massive human rights violations by cops during recent anti-government rallies. Human rights organisations have accused police of shooting scores of individuals who were protesting planned tax increases, some of whom died, and abducting or unjustly arresting hundreds more.
Local media said that police deployed two water cannons to the location on Saturday after irate demonstrators threatened to open the bags containing human remains. Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) advised people to remain calm and give them space to investigate the discovery, accusing protestors of interfering with their probe. “We want to assure the public that our investigations will be thorough and shall cover a wide range of areas, including but not limited to the possible activities of cultists and serial killings,” the Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI) stated.
‘We are the Church’: Kenyan tax protesters confront Christian leaders.
In Kenya, youth protests against proposed tax rises have served as a wake-up call to the Church. They’ve upended a powerful institution in a country where more than 80% of the people, including the president, are Christians. The teenage demonstrators accused the Church of colluding with the government and took action against politicians who used the pulpit to advance their political agenda.
On a recent Sunday afternoon, Catholic leaders rose to the challenge.
They planned a special Mass for youth from churches in and around Nairobi to remember those killed by police during the anti-tax protests. Hundreds of young people gathered in the Holy Family Basilica to pray for the dead. Just a few weeks ago, Sunday Mass was interrupted by chants from the basilica’s altar. It was an unprecedented protest by the digitally sophisticated age known as age Z, or Gen-Z.
They believed the church was not supporting their struggle against steep tax increases. Bishop Simon Kamomoe tried to persuade them that they had been heard. “I know as young people sometimes you feel disappointed even in the Church,” stated the bishop.
Hundreds of young people gathered in the Holy Family Basilica to pray for the dead.
“We’d like to renew our commitment to serving you. We may be mistaken…”May the Lord forgive us as a Church for disappointing you even before God.” He also exhorted them to be patient in pursuing their dreams, to follow the Church’s guidance, and to repent of any faults committed while protesting.
