For six months, Njeru Mbuvi has tried to get the authorities to arrest his son's killers, but justice has been elusive.
Adriano Mugendi, 21, died after being attacked by a mob that accused him of stealing miraa at Kariru village, Kiangombe location in Mbeere North sub-county on December 14 last year.
On the fateful day, Mugendi and his brother, Patrick Njiru, 16, were on a motorcycle when they were stopped at around 6.30am by three men known to them.
The brothers were going to the market and the three men demanded to see what was inside a small pack they were carrying. The men were joined by three others and the gang set upon the brothers, accusing them of stealing the miraa they were carrying.
Mr Mbuvi, who was alerted that his sons were in trouble, rushed to the scene. He pleaded with the six to hand the two to the police if they had committed a crime.
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“I told them that my sons had harvested the miraa from my farm and if they thought that they had stolen from their farm, they should take them to the police station. But they did not stop beating them until villagers intervened," recalled Mbuvi.
The two seriously injured brothers were taken to the area chief, Nicasio Ireri, who directed that they be taken to Siakago Police Station.
At the police station, the two were booked in the Occurrence Book under number 14/14/12/2017.
Later that day, the police realised that the suspects' condition was worsening and took them to Siakago District Hospital. Both were treated and discharged.
But Mugendi later died in the police cells. A postmortem performed at Siakago District Hospital on December 21 indicated he had died due to head and other injuries.
Mbuvi and his son, Njiru, who visited The Standard offices yesterday, alleged that there was an attempt to cover up the killing.
According to them, the attack was motivated by malice and stemmed from a business fallout. They said Mugendi had bought the motorcycle from his savings in 2016 after working as a casual labourer for three years.
But because he did not want to stop working, he employed a motorcyclist - one of the men who attacked him - on the understanding that he would remit a certain amount every day.
Mbuvi said Mugendi later quit his job to take over the boda boda business and take care of his aging father’s small miraa farm. He took possession of his motorcycle. His father said this did not go down well with the other man.
Njiru claimed he was pressured by a senior officer to plead guilty in court if he did not want to be killed like his brother. The teenager said he was told that would be the only way to escape a long prison term.
The Standard Seven pupil at Kune Primary School pleaded guilty and his case was referred to a probation officer.
Taratiso Kawe, a former senior police officer and a human rights defender who accompanied the family, said: “The police ignored proper procedures and took advantage of the ignorance of the victims and their family to engage in a cover-up and cashed in on the suspects."
Mbeere North OCPD Jane Sang said a file had been opened and forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority also confirmed that a complaint had been lodged at their offices and that the file was still under review.
