Bones of 'ex-KVDA boss Sylvanus Tubei' exhumed
Members of the public at the home of former Kerio Valley Development Authority Managing Director, Sylvanus Tubei, on January 04, 2024.
What you need to know:
- On Wednesday, Police obtained a court order from Iten magistrate's court to exhume the remains from Tubei’s farm.
- Homicide squad detectives said they would take the remains for a DNA test to determine if it was indeed Tubei.
Police have exhumed what they suspect are remains of former Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA) Managing Director Sylvanus Tubei who has been missing since 2012.
The detectives found bones and other remains on Thursday after digging up a shallow grave that was discovered on December 31, 2023 at Tubei’s home at Kapyemit Village, Chepkurmum sub-Location of Keiyo South, Elgeyo Marakwet County.
The human remains were found buried some 50 metres from Tubei’s palatial home.
On Wednesday, police obtained a court order from the Iten magistrate's court to exhume the remains from Tubei’s Chepkurmum farm with a view of heating up a case that went cold more than 10 years ago.
DCI officers and members of the public at the home of former KVDA Managing Director, Sylvanus Tubei, on January 04, 2024.
The investigators attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) homicide squad on Thursday said they would take the remains for a DNA test to determine if it was indeed Tubei.
If the DNA results turn out positive, DCI said it would revive a case that was dismissed by the courts for lack of evidence and which saw the former MD’s estranged wife and another suspect set free.
The estranged wife had been arrested after she was found in possession of Tubei's cell phone.
When he was reported missing 12 years ago, family sources told the media and police that Tubei disappeared from his home at 10am on the morning of September 26 and has never been seen again.
Mr Adan Dahir Abdullahi, Keiyo South sub-County police commandant said fresh investigation would start following the discovery of the remains.
He appealed to the public to volunteer information that would bring Tubei’s killers to book.
He disclosed that the missing person report had been made at Kaptagat Police Station in 2012.
Kibet Kitany, a pathologist at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital-Eldoret who took part in the exercise, said they found skeletonised remains of a human that were dressed in a black t-shirt and a trouser, and wrapped in a blanket.
He said the samples they collected would be taken to Government Chemist for further analysis to establish the identity of the person.
"We have found samples that include bones belonging to a human. Analysis will establish the identity of the person," he told reporters.
On December 31, a farm worker who was clearing a thicket on the 60-acre Chepkurmkum farm discovered the human remains covered in a blanket.
The locals later notified the area chief and area police chief, leading to the exhumation on Thursday.
