Death inquest raises more questions than answers

Principal magistrate Peter Ndwiga reads the verdict during a ruling of a case surrounding the death of former Nairobi University student Mercy Keino at Kehancha Law courts in Migori county. Th court found out that no one has been incriminated and the death is treated as a case of hit and run. Mercy's body was found ran over by vehicles along Waiyaki Way in Nairobi in 2011. (Photo: Denish Ochieng/ Standard)

A judicial inquest into the death of University of Nairobi student Mercy Keino has raised more questions than answers since no one has been found culpable for her death on June 17, 2011.

What happened is still a mystery at whose centre was Kiambu Governor William Kabogo who testified in the inquest as one of the people who attended a party where she was last seen alive.

Yesterday, Mercy’s distraught father — Joseph Keino — spoke to The Standard on Saturday after the ruling which spells the end of his quest to seek justice for his first child.

“I am still trying to get access the full judgement so that I can assess all the details and comment on it in a comprehensive manner,” he said. “I am in a meeting and I ask for more time to allow us to comprehend the new development.”

In an earlier interview, the family had said they pegged their hopes on the investigation.

“Even though I hope we will finally get justice for Mercy, I am not putting so much hope in the inquest because suppose I place all my hope that at the end of it, the truth would emerge but it doesn’t, it would be a huge disappointment,” Keino had said -- and it seems that is exactly what has happened.

Thorough investigations

Yesterday, the inquest returned what will be a devastating verdict for Mercy’s family.

“It is clear that the adversely mentioned parties had no motive to harm the deceased. It has been disclosed by the evidence on record that the adversely mentioned parties cannot be held liable or linked to the death of the deceased,” read Principal Magistrate Peter Ndwiga at Kehancha Law Courts in Kuria West in Migori County.

The university student died under unclear circumstances and that is why there were suspicions that she was murdered.

Her body was found by passers-by lying on the left lane of Waiyaki Way about 100 metres from the St Mark’s Church in Westlands, Nairobi.

Her death was subsequently reported at Divisional Traffic Police Office Parklands Police Station as a traffic offence/fatal road accident.

The family of the deceased however disputed that the she had been involved in road accident and later demanded for thorough investigations.

Investigation Directorate Headquarters, Nairobi Area Provincial Criminal Investigation Office and Gigiri Criminal Investigations Office was set up under the direction of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

The team conducted investigations and compiled their report.

The lead investigator was Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) John Otieno who was also one of the witnesses at the inquest.

Unfortunately, the investigating officers could not establish the exact cause of death and the persons responsible and thus forwarded their report to the DPP for perusals and further directions.

The DPP could also not establish whether the deceased was the victim of a homicide and even the persons responsible. The DPP proposed for a public inquest into her death.

Some of the issues that watered down a possible connection between homicide claims in Mercy’s death and the adversely mentioned parties was her high level of intoxication on the night she met her death.

Liquor levels

A post-mortem report done on June 22, 2011 by Eunice Njogu, showed that there were high levels of liquor in her tissues despite the fact that the examination was conducted four days after her death.

According to the report, the high levels of alcohol the deceased had imbibed could have made a first time drinker black out.

Statements recorded by various witnesses who claimed to have seen her lying along the Waiyaki Way were conflicting.

One witness, who was driving a Mercedes Benz said she saw a body being run over by another Mercedes Benz on the far right lane of Waiyaki Way as she approached it at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour.

But it could not be established how at such a speed a person who was driving a Mercedes Benz could see a body under a similar car.

The question of where the body was lying also raised queries as another witness said she had seen the body on the right side of the Waiyaki Way. The CCTV footage that was presented as part of the evidence during the inquest showed that the deceased was too intoxicated, rowdy and abrasive.

According to the timing on the CCTV cameras, Kiambu Governor had left the hotel 50 minutes after a time a witness said had spotted the deceased’s body along Waiyaki Way.

—Additional reporting by Nikko Tanui