Probe
Police have denied bugling investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death of a popular businessman from Kiawara in Kieni constituency.
Nyeri County Police Chief Benjamin Rotich has also refuted claims that Police officers stationed at Kiawara are incompetent and are to blame for the death of Charles Chomba Wambua who allegedly perished after his house caught fire on July 14 2024.
His wife who was also inside the house on the fateful day managed to flee from the burning house. She is currently under State protection after irate residents of the area threatened to assault her claiming she was privy to what transpired before the death of her husband aged 49.
Drama ensued yesterday after dozens of area residents carrying the casket of the deceased stormed the Kiawara Police Station demanding an independent post-mortem analysis before the remains could be interred. They were also demanding the transfer of all officers of the station whom they accused of being incompetent and spending much of their time at local drinking joints instead of serving the public.
Later they commandeered a Police land cruiser to Nyeri town but the vehicle stalled near the Nyeri Law courts. Police from Nyeri Central Police stationed afterwards intervened and took the body to the Nyeri Teaching and Referral Hospital Mortuary until the matter is resolved and another burial date set.
“What we witnessed yesterday from the residents of Kiawara is outright impunity. First they thronged the Kiawara Police Station in the company of area MCA and a local politician and ordered Police to unearth what really killed the Mr Wambua before any burial can take place.
Later they demanded they demanded the body to be taken to the Outspan Hospital Mortuary in Nyeri but this never materialised after the vehicle that was carrying the casket stalled near the Nyeri Law courts. We later took over the body and ferried it to the Nyeri Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary for custody,” he told KNA.
Rotich has also denied claims of complacency among his officers in responding to the Sunday fire saying he was the first person to call Governor Mutahi Kahiga immediately he received news about the tragedy. He said the county government’s response was swift with a firefighting engine being dispatched to the area to help in dousing the inferno.
The Police boss has blamed the public for yesterday’s fiasco which resulted in halting the burial plans for the deceased even after the family had given the go ahead for the funeral service. He also faulted local politicians for inciting the masses in derailing the funeral of Mr Wambua at a time the family had given the go ahead for the ceremony.
“When the public got in the way into the funeral plans of the deceased, we had to get a custodial order from the court to have the body preserved at the Nyeri Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary until this impasse is resolved. In the meantime, we have sought for alternative accommodation for the wife of the deceased as the residents are accusing her of having a hand in the death of her husband which we have not established,” he added.
Meanwhile, detectives from the Nyeri Central DCI headquarters are conducting forensic analysis on the body of a male adult whose remains were discovered dumped in a fodder farm on the outskirts of Nyeri town. The headless body was discovered yesterday morning after a member of the public raised an alarm over a suspected thief who was planning to steal in nearby residential premises.
But upon conducting a search, members of the public found a human head among the assorted items he was carrying in a gunny sack. Detectives later arrived at the scene and arrested the suspect identified as Joseph Mwangi Maina and aged 20 years.
He later led Police to the scene he had collected the head where the decomposing body of a male adult was found dumped inside the nappier grass farm. The body was later moved to the Nyeri Teaching and Referral Hospital as detectives’ launch investigations into the macabre incident.
“We have roped in the office of the Registration of Persons to help us unravel the identity of the deceased since there were no personal identification documents near the scene of crime at the time of collecting the body. But what we understand is the person who was found with the head of the deceased was rummaging through garbage heap near the scene of incident. And it is from him that we have managed to trace the rest of the body. He is currently helping us with investigations into the matter and we shall soon ascertain the identity of the deceased and what actually led to his death,” stated Rotich.