Inquest: There Was Foul Play In Chief's Death

An inquest into the death of Benedict Karau has ruled that there was a foul play into his demise and called on further investigation following evidence gathered in the matter.

Meru Law Courts./FILE

The court held there was cover-up leading to the death of the 74-year-old former Ankamia sub-location assistant chief who died in March 2015.

Meru Principal Magistrate Evans Mbicha ruled that there was foul play on the death of the deceased and recommended to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to keep the file open.

Principal Magistrate Mbicha asked the DPP to interrogate further persons adversely mentioned in an attempt to unravel the mystery behind the death of the septuagenarian.

“I penultimately hold, from the foregoing, that there appears to have been foul play on the death of the deceased.

I opine and recommend that ODPP keep its file open, rethink and re-evaluate the evidence,’’ the magistrate held.

In a 15-page judgment, the court also recommended to the DPP to find and record a statement of Phineas Mwirigi – a witness who was present when the deceased passed away.

The court adjourned severally during the inquest to try to trace him (Mwirigi) in vain.

The late administrator who was married to three wives was in company of the third widow- Ms Martha Gakou when he died.

The State called 21 witnesses, among them family members together with doctors, morgue attendants and police officers who testified in the inquest.

Among those who have testified included Government Chemist Stephen Matinde Weibe.

In his testimony the State witness intimated to the court he had received samples of liver, stomach, kidney, urine and blood from three police officers to perform toxicology.

The court faulted the toxicology report saying it created perplexity and bewilderment in the matter.

Mr Weibe had a rough time during the hearing to explain why he prepared two conflicting reports on the findings of the samples presented to him.

He said the first sample asked him to perform toxicological tests and DNA while the second he received two livers to perform toxic tests.

The third set of samples, he further told the court, required him to find out whether the samples had poisonous substance, human DNA and compare with the first report.

Another witness, former Government Pathologist Dr Moses Njue denied ever taking the heart belonging to the late Benedict Karau to perform histology in his college.

The medic rubbished claims by his colleagues terming them as dishonest for claiming he took the heart of the elderly man to perform histology.

The doctor who is facing a separate criminal case of heart theft disclosed that the alleged missing heart was left in the hands of a mortician in the mortuary after the autopsy was conducted.

In her testimony Dr Scholastica Kimani who performed the first autopsy with Dr Njue, she intimated to the court his colleague had taken tissues of heart and kidney for histology to ascertain whether the deceased had died of heart attack.

The duo had conducted the first post-mortem in March 2015 and concluded the cause of death was a clot on the left coronary artery.

She told the court she packaged the organs and gave them to Dr Njue who was flanked by five students from his Kings Medical College.

During the second autopsy conducted in August 2015, the medics had reached the conclusion they could not tell what killed the mzee unless they checked his heart which was missing.

The second postmortem was undertaken by Chief Government Pathologist Dr Johansen Odour, Dr Sylvester Mainge, Dr Kimani and Dr Njue.

The family through city lawyer Charles Mwongela obtained an exhumation order through lawyer Prof Kiama Wangai on July 23, 2015. 

 STORY By KEN BETT