Court orders exhumation of body of a man, 62 over mysterious death

The late Hillary Tanui, who was allegedly murdered and dumped into the river in Tindiret Sub County, Nandi. [Courtesy].

A court in Kapsabet has ordered the exhumation of the remains of a 62-year-old man who was killed and dumped in a river under unclear circumstances.

This follows concerns raised by the family over questionable circumstances in which Hillary Kipsang Tanui was found dead, and his body was recovered in late April, a week after his disappearance was reported.

The court granted a certificate of urgency for the postmortem to be conducted on the body, which was buried on May 4 after being retrieved from a river in Tindiret Sub County.

Senior Principal Magistrate Samuel Mokua allowed an application seeking the exhumation of Tanui's body, buried in his homestead in Chepkoiyo village in Tinderet.

He further directed that the body be taken to Nandi Hills Mortuary for examination by a government pathologist.

The pathologists will collect specimens, which will be sent to a government chemist for toxicology and analysis.

The police have been directed to oversee the entire process, from exhumation to ensure that the outcome of the process is not tampered with.

According to family members, Tanui's body was found decomposing in the river without the head, discrediting the initial claims that the deceased died by drowning. Johannes Too, one of the family members, narrated that Tanui left home on April 25 as usual but did not return in the evening.

"He had gone to visit friends in Kabunyeria village, which is three kilometers from home. We reported him missing to the police, but unfortunately, we found him dead when his body parts had been mauled," he said, claiming that the head was found in thickets hours later after the body was recovered.

Too pointed out that, based on the preliminary postmortem performed before the burial, the results showed that the deceased had been killed before being tossed into the river.

The five suspects in the case have each been released on a bond of Sh500, 000 as the court awaits the postmortem scheduled for July 23.