An inquest into the death of six-year-old Emmanuel Wasike, whose body was found inside a car at Ushindi Baptist Church in Likoni, Mombasa County, in 2018, has ruled out foul play concerning the tragic incident.
A Mombasa court has concluded that Emmanuel most likely entered the vehicle on his own and became trapped, leading to his death due to heat exposure, therefore bringing the inquest to a close.
"This court finds that the death was the result of a tragic and unfortunate accident. There is no evidence upon which criminal liability may be attributed to any person," the court ruled.
While the ruling brings the judicial process to a close, it leaves the family without definitive answers to many of the questions surrounding Emmanuel's final moments. In its closing remarks, the court acknowledged the family's anguish.
"The court expresses its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased and hopes that this finding may offer some measure of closure," the court concluded.
Emmanuel's body was found inside the Toyota saloon car belonging to a church bishop, on February 26, 2018. The vehicle had been parked within the compound of Ushindi Baptist Church in Majengo Mapya, Likoni.
Ushindi Baptist Church in Likoni where the body of a 6-year-old boy who went missing was found in the back seat of the church bishop’s car.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The judicial inquest was not opened until September 16, 2019, more than one year and six months after the tragedy.
After reviewing the evidence, the court observed that all the witnesses were largely consistent on the material facts, namely that the deceased was found lying on the back seat of a vehicle parked within the church compound and had no visible external injuries.
"The medical evidence points to death resulting from environmental factors, namely heat exposure leading to multiple organ failure. The investigative evidence did not disclose any indication of foul play or criminal culpability," the court observed.
The court held that the totality of the evidence supported the conclusion that Emmanuel most likely entered the vehicle on his own but was unable to get out, ultimately succumbing to the extreme heat.
During hearings, Emmanuel's mother, Joyce Wasike, testified that on February 25, 2018, she had taken her children to Ushindi Baptist Church. While Emmanuel attended Sunday school, she joined the main church service.
At around 2 pm, after the service ended, she realised her son was missing.
"After unsuccessful efforts to trace him, I reported the matter at Likoni Police Station and other nearby stations. The following day, while at the church, I was informed by the police that the child had been found inside a motor vehicle belonging to the bishop," she testified.
She said she found Emmanuel's body lying on the back seat of the vehicle, which was parked within the church compound with its doors closed, and its windows rolled up.
"The deceased did not have visible physical injuries. I believed he died of suffocation," she told the court, on December 6, 2022.
The deceased's father, Richard Wanyonyi, told the court that he identified his son's body inside the vehicle. Mr Wanyonyi, a boda boda rider, said the church compound had two gates and was fitted with CCTV cameras covering the parking area.
He told the court that he requested police to review the CCTV footage but was never given an opportunity to view it himself. Mr Wanyonyi had testified earlier on June 8, 2021.
Pastor Aggrey Lime testified on September 11, 2023, saying that he had been in charge of the church service on the day Emmanuel disappeared. The following day, he was called back to the church, where he found a crowd gathered around the vehicle.
Upon checking, he saw the child's body lying on the back seat. He told the court that the vehicle was defective and had not been in use.
"The door had been forced open before police arrived. The child may have entered the vehicle and failed to exit," he testified.
Bishop Joseph Kitusa Timora testified on October 15, 2025, saying that he had been in Nairobi when he received news of the incident.
He confirmed that the vehicle belonged to him and had been parked inside the church compound. He also disclosed that the church's CCTV system was not functioning.
Dr Aisha Ali, a medical officer at Coast General Hospital, produced the postmortem report. She found no external injuries but observed damage to internal organs, including discolouration of the lungs and kidneys.
She concluded that Emmanuel died from multiple organ failure resulting from heat exposure, as detailed in the postmortem report.
Sunday school teacher Rophenes Oyugi testified that he released Emmanuel to his siblings after class. The following day, he learnt that a child's body had been found inside a vehicle within the church compound.
"Upon checking, I identified the deceased lying on the back seat," he said.
Lenny Nyamai, the investigating officer, testified that a missing person report had been made on February 25, 2018. Days later, he said, the child's body was discovered inside the vehicle parked within the church compound.
He also observed no visible injuries and told the court that although the vehicle's doors were closed, they were not locked. The windows were tinted, and the CCTV system was not operational.
He concluded that there was no evidence of foul play and that Emmanuel's death appeared to have been a tragic accident.
"In my opinion, it was quite an unfortunate event,” he said.
The officer told the court during the hearing that the vehicle in question reportedly had a defective locking system and had not been in regular use.
According to his observations, although the car had a defective locking system, gaining access to it was not easy, as officers experienced difficulty opening the doors. This raised questions about how the child may have ended up inside the vehicle, an issue the officer could not explain in his findings.
The proceedings also exposed questions that were never fully resolved. Among them is evidence that the vehicle area had reportedly been checked on the day Emmanuel was reported missing, yet no child was found inside until the following day.
Beyond Emmanuel's case, the proceedings also raise a broader question about the role of CCTV systems in public and private institutions in investigations. In this case, had the church's surveillance system been functional, it might have captured Emmanuel's movements and provided investigators with additional evidence capable of assisting the court in determining how he came to be inside the vehicle.
