Police are facing fresh scrutiny after a 26-year-old man who went missing in Nairobi last Sunday was found dead inside Central Police Station in Mombasa, only hours after his arrest.
According to police reports, the deceased, identified as Simon Warui, was arrested on September 17, 2025, in Nairobi’s city centre by officers from the Urban Division on suspicion of stealing following a complaint lodged against him.
His family said Warui had been reported missing from Nairobi’s Umoja I Estate, with the disappearance initially recorded at Kamukunji Police Station.
Three days later, his wife claimed she received a call from a church security guard along Nkrumah Road, Mombasa, informing her that Warui had been booked at Central Police Station in the coastal city.
Witnesses at the station reported that Warui appeared weak and visibly distressed after being booked. Moments later, he allegedly asked to use the toilet in the cells, where police say he collapsed and died.
Simon Warui, 26, was found dead in a police cell in Mombasa.
Photo credit: Pool
Officers stated that while Warui was in the toilet, they heard a loud bang and rushed in, only to find him on the floor with blood oozing from his nose.
He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. His body was later transferred to the mortuary, pending an autopsy and investigations.
“We were told he had been found in Mombasa and taken to Central Police Station. We arrived at night and asked to see him, but were told to wait until the next morning. When we returned with his brother, we were informed he had died. Nobody knows if he took his own life or was killed. What we want is justice for Simon. When we travelled from Nairobi, we knew he was alive, but on reaching Mombasa, we found his body at the morgue,” said his cousin Godfrey Gichuru.
A post-mortem conducted at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital revealed that Warui died from “cardiorespiratory collapse caused by a fracture dislocation of the neck consistent with a fall from a height”.
The report also noted ligature marks measuring 3mm, a 5cm irregular scalp wound, dislocation of the C7–T1 vertebra, spinal haemorrhage and other injuries.
Warui, a father of a three-year-old child, had last been seen at his Umoja home on September 14 before being reported missing. His family only learned of his death days later.
The National Police Service said it had informed the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), which is mandated to investigate incidents that occur in police custody.
