Thursday 24 October 2013

Kenya: Beef mystery in 'body parts' at Westgate Mall


Forensic investigators analyzing ten 'body parts' recovered from the rubble of the collapsed Westgate Mall have discovered that some of the samples are beef. The body parts were collected by police who are still combing through the rubble as they continue with their investigations into the September 21 terror attack.

They have so far collected ten body parts which were stored in carefully sealed plastic bags which were sent to the City Mortuary for analysis last Thursday. A group of forensic pathologists who have been analyzing the samples detected that two of the 'body parts' were actually beef. The two samples -- sample number 2530 and 2531-- were discarded and have been disposed of.

Chief Government pathologist Dr Johanes Oduor said he could not speculate about the origin of the meat but said: "Human meat and beef is the same". He added: "The only notable difference is when it comes to a mammal's meat and meat of say chicken or fish. "

Odour said the remaining body parts were extremely charred and mutilated and said they were possibly from three to four different people. The Star visited City mortuary yesterday and sat through as Dr Odour and a team of foreign experts analyzed and painstakingly recorded their findings on note books. The body parts are being held in a separate and newly acquired freezer which is kept in a separate room at the mortuary and is always locked thereby limiting access to Dr Oduor and the team of foreign and local experts.

A police source hazarded a guess and explained that the beef samples could have been taken up with the other body parts by the team of policemen who were combing through the rubble and who gathered and tagged everything they thought could be of interest. The policeman said the police did not have any field equipment which could help them conduct preliminary analysis.

The officer who cannot be named because he is not authorized to speak to the press said:"You are safe collecting everything from the scene. Then we let the expert tell what these things are," he said.

The police and forensic experts said the body parts were found at one corner of the lower basement. Police also recovered a AK 47 riffle close to the area where the bodies were found.

The tests at the City Mortuary will help establish the identify of the four or five terrorists captured on CCTV footage who are responsible for the deaths of ale at least 70 people. The government reports said five terrorists were gunned down but their bodies have never been shown to the public. The analysis is meant to establish whether the body parts at the mortuary are from some of the 23 people who are still listed as missing or they are the remains of the terrorists.

Thursday 24 October 2013

http://allafrica.com/stories/201310240369.html

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