The dense thicket where the body of a British businessman was found in Kenya is a notorious dumping ground for murder victims, with locals saying they have been finding corpses in the area for years.
Animal herders discovered the remains of Campbell Scott on Saturday in the Makongo forest, 80 miles southeast of where he had been staying in Nairobi.
The 58-year-old’s body was hidden in a sack of pineapples with his hands and legs bound with rope, local officials said, and his corpse reportedly showed signs of torture and strangulation.
Locals in the area have said his is just the latest body to be found under the thick canopy, with many recalling stumbling across human remains in the tree-covered valleys.
The corpses of abandoned babies and foetuses have also been discovered in the thicket in recent years, according to the Nation newspaper.
The only reason residents found the latest discovery unusual, Kenyan media reports, was because the body belonged to a white foreigner.
Police have been urged to increase patrols in the area, which has a single winding road and no street lighting, to stop it being a haven for murderers.
Investigators remained at the scene where Mr Scott was found yesterday, with the probe into his death still ongoing.
Security camera footage appears to show Mr Scott dressed in cargo pants and a blue shirt shortly before his disappearance
Animal herders discovered the remains of Campbell Scott in Makongo forest, 80 miles southeast of where he had been staying in Nairobi
Campbell Scott (pictured) was reported missing on Monday night by a colleague
Mr Scott, a senior director at credit scoring firm FICO, was attending a conference in Nairobi when he was last seen by colleagues on February 16.
A taxi driver and a nightclub waiter have now been arrested on suspicion of his abduction and murder, according to reports.
Police believe Mr Scott visited a bar in the upmarket Westlands area of Nairobi both the night before and on the day of his disappearance.
He is said to have met a friend at the venue before taking a taxi to Pipeline, one of the city’s biggest slums, shortly after 7pm, according to The Times.
Police reportedly believe that he was held at an address on the estate, possibly while his abductors attempted to empty his bank accounts of cash.
On the day before his disappearance, security camera footage shows Mr Scott dressed in cargo pants and a blue shirt, seemingly relaxed and jovial, waving at staff at the hotel before walking out, local media reports.
Mr Scott checked into his hotel room at around 1pm on February 15, but left an hour later.
Investigators are still working at the scene where his body was found on Saturday
Locals in the area have said his is just the latest body to be found under the thick canopy
He returned at around 4pm, with footage showing him exchanging pleasantries with the hotel’s security guards before walking back to his room.
The next day he left at around 11.15am, with colleagues reportedly believing he was going for a walk to shake off his jet lag and assumed that he would be back for lunch.
Detectives say footage showed Mr Scott leaving his hotel with a man dressed in a white T-shirt and blue jeans. They are then said to have got into a car before driving off.
One of Mr Scott’s colleagues was unable to reach him on his UK registered phone number at 6pm, and by 7pm the worried workmate decided to notify hotel management, who advised him to call the police.
Local administrator Thomas Maitha revealed that the injuries suggested Mr Scott ‘appeared to have been tortured’, and that his body was in such a bad state that it ‘prompted us to escalate the matter’.
Mr Maitha told Kenya’s The Standard Newspaper: ‘The killers had tied his hands from the back and stuffed the body in the sack packed with ripe pineapples.’
Detectives say footage showed Mr Scott leaving his hotel with a man dressed in a white T-shirt and blue jeans. They are then said to have got into a car before driving off.
After arriving at the JW Marriott Hotel in Nairobi’s city centre (pictured) on Sunday, Scott was last seen when he left the hotel at around 11.15am on Sunday
It was reported last week that Interpol had been asked for assistance to help access Mr Scott’s call records to find out who may have called him before he went missing.
A close friend said: ‘We don’t know any more than what has been reported, and have been told nothing else. It’s so worrying. He is the kindest person in the world, he will do anything for anyone.’
FICO said in a statement that its thoughts were with Mr Scott’s family and friends.
The company confirmed that Nairobi police had identified Mr Scott’s body before adding that they ‘are not sharing further details, as the investigation is in the hands of the police.’
Paying tribute, the firm said: ‘We are devastated by this tragic news. Campbell was a leader in our international Scores business.
‘He joined FICO in 2014 and was instrumental in introducing Scores to new markets and growing our business with existing partnerships.
‘We mourn his passing and will miss his humour and kindness.’
Mr Scott’s online CV said he attended Woodmill High School in Dunfermline before going on to study business.
In October 2014 he started working at FICO – an American data analytics company known for its credit scoring services – as its director of product management.
In December 2020 he was promoted to the senior director of product management at the company, and is currently based at its London office.
The company website said he had more than 25 years’ experience in data management, and he is responsible for the global regulatory and compliance product management with FICO.
The Foreign Office said: ‘We are supporting the family of a British man reported missing in Kenya and are in contact with the local authorities.’