River Yala victim could have been hit on head, says report
River Yala in Siaya County. A man from Nyeri County whose body was among those retrieved from the river could have died after being hit on the head with a blunt object, a post-mortem report has revealed.
A man from Nyeri County whose body was among those retrieved from River Yala in Siaya could have died after being hit on the head with a blunt object, a post-mortem report has revealed.
Mr John Kiruki Karimi, 28, who hailed from Ngurumo village in Mathira West sub-county, went missing on November 15, 2021 as he was travelling to Nakuru from Umoja III estate in Nairobi.
According to the family, a post-mortem report from Siaya Hospital indicated that Mr Karimi was hit with a blunt object before he died and his body dumped in the river.
In an interview with the Nation, one of Mr Karimi’s relatives, Mr Ephantus Ndegwa, said they were instructed by the police to collect the body from the Yala Sub-County Hospital mortuary after samples taken for DNA analysis matched those of the family.
The body, which was transferred to the Tumutumu Hospital mortuary on Friday, was retrieved alongside many others. They included that of former Kenya Wildlife Service officer Francis Oyaro, who was reported missing after being kidnapped by unknown people near Naromoru in Nyeri County in August last year.
20 bodies retrieved
At least 20 bodies of victims from various parts of the country have been retrieved from River Yala in the past two months after being dumped there under mysterious circumstances.
Mr Karimi will be buried Thursday at his parents’ home.
The family has appealed to the police to expedite investigations to establish who killed Mr Karimi and why.
"The family is seeking the truth about the killing. Investigations should be expedited and whoever was responsible brought to book so that we can get justice,” said Mr Ndegwa, a former Kirimukuyu ward councillor.
