Post-mortem results reveal what killed Festus Muthui

Festus Muthui, the man who succumbed to his injuries while in police custody, died as a result of a head injury, a post-mortem has revealed.

According to the government pathologist Dr Titus Ngulungu, who conducted the post-mortem at the Nakuru County Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary, the cause of death was severe head injury.

In the report seen by Mtaa Wangu, the pathologist writes: "As a result of my examination, I am of the opinion that the preliminary cause of death was severe head injury with global brain contusion and subdural haematoma due to multiple blunt head trauma."

The pathologist, who carried out the post-mortem examination in the presence of Muthui's family, IPOA officials and human rights activists.

Before his death, Muthui had been detained at Bondeni police station for four days after his estranged wife reported him for allegedly defiling their 12-year-old daughter.

In an earlier interview, Muthui's father, George Mutinda, pointed an accusing finger at the Bondeni OCS following the death of his son.

The deceased, who was a mechanic, was arrested on December 20, 2024 and died on arrival at the hospital on December 24, 2024.

Nakuru Human Rights Network director David Kuria called on IPOA to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident to ensure that the family gets justice.

"We want justice for Muthui's family and also for another family who are also seeking justice after an officer from the same station who shot and killed a school girl. It seems that the station is now notorious. No stone should be left unturned, these families deserve justice for their loved ones who died at the hands of the police," he says.

In a telephone interview, Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) regional coordinator Japheth Kaimenyi says his office has launched a full investigation at the station to establish what happened that led to Muthui's death.

"We will start by calling all the officers who were on duty to record their statements and then we will go to those who were in the cell with Muthui on the days he was in police custody," he notes.

IPOA also says it will accompany Muthui's father to the station to collect his belongings, including his mobile phone. in addition to this they also plan to contact the district commander to obtain relevant documents that may assist our investigation.