Body exhumed and returned to families after mortuary mix-up in Makueni

Two families in Kibwezi, Makueni County, have finally laid their loved ones to rest after an exhumation exercise corrected a mortuary mix-up that led to the wrong body being buried.

The exercise was conducted on Tuesday at Nzembete Village in Masongaleni Location, following an identification error at Kibwezi Funeral Home.

According to police, the mix-up occurred on July 18, 2026, when the family of one deceased person mistakenly buried the body of another relative due to an identification error at the mortuary.

Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Kibwezi, public health officials, mortuary attendants, and members of both affected families supervised the exhumation.

Investigators established that the remains of 95-year-old Andrew Mutua Kasimu had been mistakenly buried instead of those of 96-year-old Tom Nzioka.

Following the exhumation, the body was returned to their respective families. The remains were taken to Kibwezi Mortuary before each family collected the correct body and proceeded with burial.

Police said the exercise was conducted peacefully without any incident and that no further police action is required.

Meanwhile, two police officers were injured after a funeral procession involving about 200 boda boda riders turned violent along the Nyanturago–Gesusu Road in Kisii County.

The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon as riders escorted the body of a fellow boda boda operator from Kisii Town to Gesusu.

According to police, the unrest began after an unidentified motorcyclist in the convoy knocked down a child who was walking along the road. The crash sparked a confrontation between boda boda riders from Nyanturago and those accompanying the funeral procession, which quickly escalated into a riot.

Police responded to the scene but encountered a hostile crowd that blocked the road. Police said they were forced to use crowd-control measures to restore order, firing two blank rounds of 7.62×51mm ammunition and deploying two tear gas canisters.

During the operation, a police officer sustained a head injury, suffered facial bruises and swelling, and lost a Vivo mobile phone valued at Sh40,000 while another one sustained a deep cut to the head.

Both officers were rushed to Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital for treatment.

The child who was knocked down was also taken to hospital, although police said the medical facility had not been established at the time of the report.

Police arrested four boda boda riders in connection with the violence.

Five motorcycles were also impounded as investigations into the incident continue.