Samuel Muchemi who is alleged to have died by suicide at Muchatha Police Post in Ruaka.
On December 12, Samuel Kimamo Muchemi, just like millions of Kenyans, marked the Jamhuri Day by meeting up with his friend in Muchatha, Kiambu County.
They had a few bottles of booze before parting ways with a promise to link up later in the night. Their planned meeting was never to be.
Unknown to Muchemi, 34, and his friend Charles Kung’u, the former was never to see the light of day beyond the fateful Thursday.
An altercation with a chief and police officers late Thursday night ended with Kimamo being roughed up and resultantly taken to cool his heels at Muchatha Police Post.
By Friday morning, he was dead.
Police records, as seen in OB number 2/13/12/2024, recorded 17 minutes past midnight, indicate that the deceased died by suicide, a claim that his family has dismissed since they received the troubling message from the police.
Speaking with the Nation at Nairobi Funeral Home where the family was waiting for post-mortem results, Muchemi’s elder brother Daniel Maina on Monday said they were yet to come to terms with the death of their kin, described as a lover of life.
None of the family members believe that Muchemi, who openly talked about his plans to finish his course and be a fully licensed heavy machinery operator, would easily commit suicide after being arrested for drunk driving.
Maina narrated how his brother spent the day with Charles at a joint in Muchatha but his friend left earlier because he had an early morning.
The plan was simple, Muchemi would tarry at the entertainment spot a bit longer before joining his friend at his home in Muchatha as it would be too late for him to drive back to his home in Thika.
Daniel Maina speaking about his late brother Samuel Muchemi at City Mortuary on December 16, 2024. Muchemi died in unclear circumstances at Muchatha Police Station in Ruaka.
However, instead of meeting at his house as planned, Charles received a call informing him that his friend had been stopped by the local chief who was accompanied by some police officers on the road leading to his house in Muchatha.
Heated argument
“Charles quickly rushed to the scene where he said he found Kimamo (Muchemi) engaged in a heated argument with the chief and the police officers. He tried intervening but he was roughed up and decided to go home knowing he would go to pick Kimamo from the police station in the morning,” Maina said.
Things, however, did not play out as Charles had anticipated because Muchemi was not at the station when he arrived there the following morning.
Officers on duty informed him that his friend had been taken to Kiambu Law Courts.
A few hours later, after scouring the entire courtrooms at Kiambu Law Courts, Charles was certain that his friend had not been presented before any judicial officer.
He went back to the police station where he was told that he could not be told anything because he was not a family member. This is when he called Maina and informed him of the development.
Unknown to Charles, his friend’s brother had received a disconcerting phone call from his sister-in-law, Muchemi’s wife who is based in Eldoret.
The wife told him that she had been called by police officers who traced her number after searching for the owner of the red Toyota vehicle that her husband was driving before his arrest.
The officers asked her to rush to the station in Kiambu County but she told them that she was quite far and instead told them that Maina, her husband’s brother was nearby and would easily get to the station.
These two calls from two different people were enough to make Maina concerned.
He dropped whatever he was doing and rushed to the station where he was informed that his brother had died by suicide.
“The police told me that Kimamo killed himself using his shirt. That he tied his shirt on one of the grills in the police cells, which are about four feet from the ground, tied a knot on his neck and forced his body to slide from the grills until he died,” he said.
Police cell
How his brother could die by suicide in a police cell in full view of the officers on duty, without raising an alarm, is unbelievable to them.
Also, one of the officers investigating the matter allegedly told Maina that some women saw his late brother driving recklessly and called the area chief, who somehow managed to quickly gather officers and effectively arrest Kimamo.
"The chief must be very effective to the extent that in the blink of an eye, he called officers and immediately went and arrested a man who was drunk," he said.
The Nation reached out to Kiambaa sub-County Police Commander Pius Mwanthi who said he had received a report on the incident and that they were awaiting the post-mortem results to guide their next steps.
"I am aware of the case and we conducted preliminary investigations that did not reveal much. Our hope in unearthing what transpired relies heavily on the post-mortem which was conducted today (Monday). The results from the post-mortem will help us with our investigations," he said.
For the family, all they want is justice for their loved one, who they say was so full of life and had even called Maina two days before his death, detailing his plans for the festive season at their rural home in Turbo, Uasin Gishu County.
"All we want is for the truth to come out and for all those involved in his death to be held accountable. This is too painful. Police stations should be the safest places in this country, not places where people go and never come out," said Mr Maina.
