A family from Embu County is demanding justice for their son who died in the Intensive Care Unit at the Kilifi County Referral Hospital after being detained at Kilifi GK Prison.
The late Francis Njue Mbadi was remanded at the prison after he was charged with assaulting a woman in September last year.
Speaking to the Nation in Kilifi town, Mr Paul Nyaga, a brother of the deceased, said they were informed about the death and travelled to Kilifi.
“I arrived on January 8 and went straight to Kilifi Police Station to report the death of my brother because he was healthy by the time he was being arrested. The officer at the enquiry desk declined (to record the incident) and told me that he had to get instructions from the OCS to record the matter,” he said.
Mr Nyaga said he managed to get the OCS later in the evening since he was held up with official duties during the day.
He was advised that issues to do with deaths should be reported to the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and asked to go to the DCIO’s office.
Mr Nyaga went to the Kilfi North DCIO office to report the matter but was directed to the Prison Department.
“The DCIO told me that I should start with the Prison Department where my brother was remanded,” he said.
Accompanied by his young brother Nicholas Mbogo and friends of the deceased, they went to the Kilifi GK Prison to enquire about Njue’s death on January 10.
Here, he says that he met a prison officer.
“The officer was harsh to us and asked us why human beings are always bitter when a person dies but not when they are alive. I felt bad because I did not expect him to respond to me that way,” he said.
The family said the deceased had never complained of having any sickness or pains in his body before his arrest.
Mr Nyaga now wants justice for his late brother, claiming foul play.
“We are asking for a thorough investigation into the matter and justice for my brother because according to those who were staying with him in Kilifi, he had not been sick and he died in the hands of the government,” he added.
Mr Mbogo said his brother had told him that the police were looking for him for assaulting the woman.
He visited his brother Njue at the Kilifi Police Station before being taken to court and handed him bread and milk.
On December 28, 2024, Mr Mbogo went to visit his brother at the Kilifi prison and he confided in him that the prison wardens were beating him.
“I had taken toothpaste to my brother and he told me that he does not see himself surviving in prison because he was being beaten by the officers. Those are the last words from my brother,” he said.
Mr Mbogo said a prison officer called him on December 30 and asked him to pick up his sick brother since he would be released by the court on free bond.
Mr Mbogo said the medical officers at the Kilifi County Referral Hospital refused to allow them to see the body until they cleared the Sh40,000 hospital bill.
They proceeded to the mortuary where the attendant told them that they could not view the body until they got permission from the Kilifi prison.
On November 9, 2024, a police constable from Kilifi Police Station arrested Njue and placed him in custody.
According to the charge sheet seen by the Nation , the deceased assaulted the complainant, Ms Christine Nkatha Njeru, on September 15, 2024 at 5pm in the Kiwandani area within Kilifi Township and injured her.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was given a bond of Sh40,000 with a cash bail of Sh20,000.
The court mentioned the case on November 25 before Kilifi Principal Magistrate Ivy Wasike, and the accused confirmed that the prosecution had given him the statements.
Ms Wasike set the matter for mentioning on January 31, 2025 and hearing on July 2, 2025.
However, on December 30, the prosecution moved to court seeking orders to have the case withdrawn.
Kilifi Prosecutor, Ms Ridhwan Mohamed, told the court that they had received a letter from the prison and asked the magistrate to withdraw the matter under section 87A of the Criminal Penal Code so that the accused is handed over and not left in the hospital.
Dr Enock Baya, a Medical Officer at the Bofa GK Prison, was before Magistrate Wasike and asked the court to withdraw the matter since the accused was at the Kilifi County Referral Hospital admitted with an obstructive hydrocephalus tumour.
Obstructive hydrocephalus is a condition that occurs when a brain tumour blocks the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (a clear fluid that protects and nourishes the brain and spinal cord) in the brain.
He told the court that Njue had been at the hospital since December 27, 2024, and due to the cost, the Prisons Department wished to relay the information to the family and also consider having him taken care of by the family.
“He has lost consciousness and he is in ICU unresponsive,” Dr Baya said.
A letter from the Kilifi GK Prison officer in charge Kennedy Odindo to the Kilifi Chief Magistrate indicated that Njue was a remand prisoner number KLF/783/2024.
“He was diagnosed with a condition that has deteriorated his health. He has been treated several times at the county hospital but he requires specialised treatment which is very expensive and we cannot afford as the Prisons Department,” he said.
“It is with this regard that we are kindly requesting your honourable court to consider pardoning him on grounds of critical illness,” he said.
Another letter dated December 30 from the Kilifi County Referral Hospital written by Dr Sakina Abdallah and addressed ‘to whom it may concern’ indicated that the late Njue suffered Obstructive Hydrocephalus and pineal gland tumour CCT.
“Patient is currently unconscious due to the surgery and requires ICU management post-operative that is currently unavailable both at Kilifi County Referral Hospital and Coast General Hospital,” she stated.
Magistrate Wasike withdrew the case and ordered the Officer in Charge of Kilifi GK prison to hand over the accused to his immediate family to continue with medical care.
The late Njue died at the county hospital on December 30. The body is still at the Kilifi County Referral Hospital mortuary.
A senior officer at the Kilifi GK Prison who asked not to be mentioned in the media since he was not authorised to comment on the matter, said the prison was not involved since by the time of his death, the matter had been withdrawn from court.
