The recent mysterious death and cremation of the son of former head of civil service Jeremiah Kiereini adds to the growing list of children from wealthy families dying under unexplained circumstances.
The decomposing body of Githae Kiereini, 42, was early last month discovered in his two bedroom pad along Nandi Road in Karen, Nairobi. He died in the same house his brother, Mburu, died in four years ago.
A close family member asked The Nairobian not to quote him, though he declined to comment on the incident and did not provide any contacts of relatives authorised to speak on behalf of the family.
Githae was the son of billionaire Jeremiah Kiereini, a corporate titan.
His body lay in the house for three days before it was discovered by a mama nguo. Twice a week, the woman would do Githae’s laundry. Guards who had worked there for years remember the mama nguo as the only woman who entered the house.
But on that Monday morning, she was met with an unusual silence. The main door was locked from inside and her persistent knocks never elicited a response.
She peeped through the window on the bedroom side and saw the prostrate body of her employer.
“It is then that she alerted the security guards who called the family and police,” a source told The Nairobian.
Githae had a history of a heart condition and a few years back, he had undergone an operation, according to sources.
Police say Githae had on a Friday night come to the house in company of two male friends who left the same night.
The guards told police that Githae did not venture out throughout the weekend, prior to being found dead that fateful Monday.
An officer privy to the investigations said, “Guards feared him because he was unpredictable and could easily turn violent even when not provoked.”
Githae had apparently instructed the guards never to screen his visitors. It is alleged that his relatives or friends never left their details in the visitors’ book at the gate.
Karen DCIO Alfred Ouko said preliminary investigations show Githae’s death could have been as a result of heart failure.
“The post-mortem showed that he died of cardiac arrest,” stated the senior detective.
Investigations have to been closed since police are waiting for the outcome of toxicology tests being carried out by the Government Chemist. Samples of the intestines were picked for further tests.
Even though the family requested the toxicology tests, a close family member declined an interview saying, “No, I don’t want to talk about that matter and don’t quote me on that.”
“We shall wait for the outcome of the toxicology tests before arriving at the final conclusion,” said the DCIO.
Apart from the mama nguo, female visitors did not frequent the house for many years as “they (guards) told us. On the fateful weekend, the family was not aware he had visitors,” said Ouko.
The autopsy on the body was carried out by government chief pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor. Githae lived alone in the house.
