Kinoti, Haji row delays start to Tecra Muigai inquest
Director of Public Prosecutions, Noordin Haji (left) and Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti.
What you need to know:
- The DCI had on September 17 lodged an inquest at the Milimani Law Courts.
- Iit emerged that the DPP had instructed that the inquest be withdrawn and the same instituted at the Lamu Law Courts.
- The magistrate has now set October 6 for open court hearing for the parties to present their arguments.
A disagreement between the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions could further delay the setting up of an inquest into the death of Keroche Breweries’ heiress Tecra Muigai.
The point of divergence between the two criminal justice agencies is on where the inquest should be held.
The DCI had on September 17 lodged an inquest at the Milimani Law Courts, meaning that barring anything else, the inquest into the questionable death of Ms Muigai would take place in Nairobi where she died while undergoing treatment for injuries she sustained in Lamu.
Her boyfriend, Omar Lali, has maintained that she suffered the fatal wounds as a result of a fall but two separate autopsy reports, one by the government pathologist and a second by a family pathologist questioned the fall theory. After the inquest was filed, the magistrate handling the matter had set a mention date for yesterday.
During the mention, it emerged that the DPP had instructed that the inquest be withdrawn and the same instituted at the Lamu Law Courts. The lawyer for Ms Muigai’s family, Elijah Ongoya, has however opposed the DPP’s application.
Open court hearing
The magistrate has now set October 6 for open court hearing for the parties to present their arguments for and against holding the inquest in Nairobi. Section 386 of the Criminal Procedure Code stipulates locations where an inquest can be held, including where the death happened.
In Ms Muigai’s case, she suffered the injuries in Lamu but died in Nairobi to where she had been airlifted for treatment. The DPP had on July 16 withdrawn murder charges against Mr Lali before he could take plea. Instead, the DPP called for an inquest.
Mr Omar said that Tecra fell off the stairs at Jaha House in Lamu on April 23at 5.30am. He rushed her to Shella Dispensary before she was transferred to King Fahd Referral Hospital. Tecra would eventually be evacuated to Nairobi Hospital where she eventually succumbed to her injuries on May 2. Two different pathologists have questioned the fall theory, saying she suffered multiple head injuries, which could not have been caused by a fall from a flight of stairs.
