A police officer from Vihiga County who had been missing for two weeks has been found dead in River Yala. The discovery has brought new calls for answers over a string of unexplained deaths linked to the river and to the West Bunyore area.

Police named the officer as Constable Mannaseh Olambwe Ndakala, 46, who was attached to Emusire Police Station in Emuhaya Sub-County. His body was found at about 5.30pm on Saturday, October 31, in Omindo Village, Gem Sub-County, Siaya County. A resident grazing livestock spotted it floating along the riverbank.

Missing since October 17

According to police, Ndakala went missing on October 17. A missing person report was filed at Emusire Police Station five days later, on October 22.

The herder told the village elder, who alerted the area assistant chief. Officers from Yala Police Station, led by the station commander and joined by criminal investigations officers from Gem and Emuhaya, went to the scene. With help from local residents, they pulled the body out of the water.

Police say the body was fully dressed and partly decomposed. The officer's brother identified it. It was taken to Coptic Hospital Mortuary in Luanda, Vihiga County, for a post-mortem examination, which is expected to show how he died.

Because the disappearance was first reported in Emuhaya, the sub-county criminal investigations officer there has taken over the case.

'A disturbing pattern'

Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi has asked the National Police Service and other investigative agencies to give the case the attention it deserves. He described the circumstances of the officer's disappearance and death as deeply disturbing.

"I am particularly concerned that this tragedy adds to a disturbing pattern of deaths involving residents of West Bunyore," the senator said in a statement. He added that the cases "must not be treated as isolated" and must not become "another set of unresolved statistics."

He wants detectives to check whether Ndakala's death is linked to other similar cases in the region. He also wants anyone found responsible to face the full force of the law.

A river with a grim history

River Yala has drawn national attention before. Between 2021 and 2022, many bodies were pulled from the river, some of them bound and stuffed in sacks. Human rights groups demanded inquiries, and the matter was raised in Parliament. Many of those cases remain unresolved, which is why local leaders are pushing for a quick and open investigation this time.

Police have not said whether they suspect foul play. They say the circumstances of the officer's disappearance and death are still under investigation. For now, his family and colleagues are waiting for the post-mortem results.

Photos: Kahawatungu; Dati Bendo / European Union, 2023 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.