Meru political activist ‘Sniper’ was tortured before being killed: post-mortem
Political activist and blogger Daniel Muthiani, alias 'Sniper'.
Meru political activist and blogger Daniel Muthiani aka Sniper was tortured before being strangled to death, a post-mortem has revealed.
Chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor said the body also had injuries to the head and chest, and his ribs were broken.
He said contrary to speculation that some of his body parts were missing, all were intact.
“There were no signs of struggle and he seemed to have been completely subdued to a level that he could not fight back. We have taken some samples of organs that will be subjected to toxicology tests to establish whether there were substances used to achieve this,” Oduor said.
He spoke on Friday at the Marimanti Level Four Hospital mortuary, where the body was taken after it was recovered from a thicket on the banks of the Mutonga River in Tharaka Nithi County.
Also present were homicide detectives, family members including his wife Irene Kawira and their pathologist Benjamin Kanake.
“Examination of the body also showed that it had decomposed after being in the water for several days,” Oduor said.
Muthiani probably died on December 2, the same day he disappeared, and his body was recovered from the banks of a river on December 6, he added.
The pathologist said although the results of the DNA analysis were not yet available, he was satisfied that the family had positively identified the body.
Kanake also said Muthiani had been tortured by forcing sand into his mouth, which was found in his throat.
“There were injuries on the head caused by a blunt object,” he said.
Muthiani’s brother Francis Mutuma said that earlier in the week, the family accompanied DCI officers to the site where the body was found and the officers had collected samples for further investigations.
“According to the officers, after he (Muthiani) was killed, his body was thrown into the flooded Mutonga River from the bridge where strong currents swept it all the way to Tharaka Nithi,” Mutuma said.
The river, which is popular for water sports including kayaking, originates from Mt Kenya and snakes down a deep valley through Meru and Tharaka Nithi counties before joining River Tana, which flows into the Indian Ocean. Mutonga bridge is located about 30 kilometres from Meru town.
Mutuma said the killers probably chose the Mutonga River because it is currently flooded and is inhabited by crocodiles.
“We believe we will get to the bottom of this and establish who killed my brother in such a cruel manner. God is with us. His killers will never see peace,” a bitter Mutuma told the Nation.
“After the body was taken to the mortuary we were informed that there were some people who went to claim it, but officers refused to let them in after realising they were not genuine.
“Now that the post-mortem has been conducted, the body will be transferred to Maua Level Four Hospital mortuary. We plan to start preparations to give our brother a send-off immediately,” he added.
