A top Kenyan deejay(DJ) and three police officers are persons of interest in the suspected murder of a senior detective attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
The detective, Felix Kitosi, is said to have died in mysterious circumstances in Kikuyu, Kiambu County on Thursday.
The three officers were arrested following the death of the DCI officer who was attached to Dagoretti sub-County DCI.
Umash Funeral Home where the postmortem of police officer Felix Kitosi is being conducted on March 23, 2024.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
A detective privy to the ongoing investigations told the Nation that the three officers, two men and a woman attached to the Traffic Department, were arrested following the death of the officer.
"They are expected to be arraigned in court on Monday," said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
But how did it all start? On one hand, according to a police report, Kitosi died after being assaulted following a traffic accident. The report does not mention names or the circumstances of the assault.
“It was reported today the 22nd March 2024 at around 1600hrs by one Reinhard Kintosi the brother to the deceased that no.241451 Inspector of Police Felix Kelian Kitosi of DCI Dagoretti had passed on while undergoing treatment at Nairobi West Hospital.
"The deceased had been involved in a non-injury traffic accident within Kikuyu market near Kikuyu police station on Saturday, at about 0400hrs. He had earlier complained of abdominal pains and was on treatment. Preliminary investigations reveal that he was assaulted by known persons after an altercation over the non-injury road traffic accident (sic),” the police report said.
Questions, differing accounts
The arrest of those linked to Kitosi's death raises questions as to why the police waited six days until the officer's death before taking action against the four.
The Nation could not immediately ascertain the names of the arrested police officers. But the family has a different story about the circumstances of their relative's death.
On Saturday, the entertainer and his team were performing at a busy club on Thika Road when they were picked up at night by police officers.
Kitosi's family says that on Saturday night the DJ had reportedly finished his set at a popular nightclub in Kikuyu, Kiambu County and was leaving the club at 4.20am when an altercation between his team and the senior police inspector broke out.
According to the family, the altercation erupted after the late Kitosi scratched a car belonging to the DJ as he was leaving the car park.
Late police officer Felix Kitosi.
Photo credit: Courtesy
The bouncers then confronted the police officer, pulled him out of the car and assaulted him with kicks and punches, Kitosi’s relatives claim.
They claim the officer was later taken to Kikuyu Police Station where he was assaulted by police officers while in custody.
His health deteriorated and he was rushed to Lang'ata Hospital before being transferred to Nairobi West Hospital where he died last Thursday.
The management of the nightclub told the Nation that the incident never took place at their premises and that they were not even aware that it had happened.
“I can assure you that the incident never took place within the club. Just follow the matter well and you will know the truth. If it had happened here then we could have resolved the issue,” the manager said.
The family now wonders why the bouncers of the club, whom they claimed first assaulted the deceased before handing him over to police officers, have not been arrested or questioned.
On Saturday, his family camped out at Umash Funeral Home awaiting a post-mortem report. The family had rejected an earlier report by government pathologist Peter Ndegwa that the deceased had died of pancreatic problems.
A team of four pathologists was expected to conduct another post-mortem to determine the cause of death.
"We want justice for our brother and nothing else. We want answers, whether he was targeted or what happened because he was full of life until he died.
"Everyone in the family is wondering what happened and we cannot understand," said one of the late officer's siblings.
Investigations by the Nation reveal that the officers who took him to the station did not record the matter and the family said that they continued to assault their relatives when they questioned him about the accident he allegedly caused.
"He asked for drinking water and told them he was dying, but they all denied it until he went for a quick call and they saw him passing blood in his urine," a relative said.
The relative claimed Kitosi was then released on Saturday from police station and decided to seek medical attention as he was badly injured and writhing in pain.
When he arrived at Nairobi West Hospital, doctors there decided to admit him.
According to a hospital report seen by the Nation , Kitosi was admitted to Nairobi West Hospital with severe abdominal pain from the alleged assault and was unable to urinate for about four hours.
It was then that doctors performed a catheterisation - a procedure in which a tube is inserted into the urethra to help urine pass.
The report goes on to say that on Thursday Kitosi's condition deteriorated and the medics' efforts to resuscitate him failed.
An officer privy to the matter, who spoke in confidence as he was not authorised to speak to the media, said the officers involved in the assault embarked on a cover-up plan after realising that they had assaulted a senior police officer.
A fellow detective from Kabete police station who visited him in custody told the police officers that he was a senior inspector.
"When they realised that the officer's health was deteriorating in hospital, a plan was hatched to cover up the whole matter and blame the DJ and his team," the officer said.
According to our police source, officers kept the DJ's team informed of Kitosi's condition for six days.
On Thursday evening, hours after the officer's death, a police report was released to Dagoretti sub-County Commander informing him of the officer's death.
In the report, the police stated that he was indeed involved in an accident in which he was assaulted. The report was filed by Reinhard, the deceased officer's brother.
