Postmortem reveals Keringet Police station suspect was severely assaulted before death
Bernard Cheruiyot who died while under police custody in Keringet Police station.
A postmortem examination conducted on the body of Bernard Cheruiyot, who died in police custody has revealed that the cause of death was severe head injury.
Government pathologist Dr Titus Ngulungu at Olenguruone Sub-County Hospital, in his report notes that the blunt trauma was consistent with a pattern seen in fatal assault cases, further mentioning that the deceased’s body had soft tissue injuries.
Police in their statement to the press had claimed that the Mr Cheruiyot who died on March 29 had hit his head on the walls at the Keringet Police Station.
“As a result of my examination, I have formed the opinion that the cause of death was severe head injury accompanied by global brain contusion and subdural hematoma due to blunt trauma,” reads part of the report.
Cheruiyot had been brought to Keringet Police Station on March 27 by community elders on account that he had threatened the life of his neighbour. Two days later, he died after being rushed to hospital by police.
Human Rights Defender David Kuria alias Western, who was present during the postmortem, notes that the findings disputed earlier communication by police that Cheruiyot had intentionally and continuously hit his head against the cell walls.
From the postmortem results, he notes, “It was evident that Cheruiyot was assaulted while under police custody. As to who is responsible, we are yet to know. That is why we are calling upon the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to conduct investigations into the matter and for the Inspector General of Police to step in and ensure the family gets justice.”
Additionally, Western regretted that little has been done to get justice for these families and blame the IPOA of not acting accordingly
“We have had five cases in Nakuru of people dying in police cells, even in prisons but we have not seen any action being taken against the people involved or the officers who may be mentioned, because some of the cases directly indicate that police officers were involved in the deaths of the inmates,” he laments, adding that IPOA needs to step up.
When reached out for a comment regarding Cheruiyot’s case the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) Rift Valley Regional Coordinator Sarah Mweah, referred us to the authority’s headquarters where emails and calls to get a comment bore no fruits.