Post-mortem reveals what killed ex-NMG journalist Silas Apollo
Former NTV reporter Silas Apollo.
Former Nation Media Group (NMG) reporter Silas Apollo, who died in a road accident along Kiambu Road last Wednesday night, died of excessive bleeding resulting from head injuries sustained from blunt trauma to the back of his head.
This was established after a two-hour post-mortem done on Monday at the Nairobi Funeral Home by government pathologist, Dr Kiwinga, in the presence of family members and police.
Other than the head injuries, the examination on the deceased’s body also showed that he had two broken ribs.
A family member who spoke to the Nation at the morgue yesterday said that they are still in shock over the sudden death of their loved one, who at the time of his death, was working at the Nairobi Law Monthly.
“The post-mortem went as scheduled, and we have received the results. The examination showed that Apollo died from excessive bleeding. It is very heartbreaking and as a family, we have many questions surrounding his death,” he said.
The multimedia journalist who reported for both NTV and Daily Nation, is reported to have died after being hit by a speeding motorcycle last Wednesday night.
The family learnt of Apollo’s death when a relative called his mobile phone number on Saturday to check on him. The phone call was received by a woman at Kiambu Police Station who informed the relative that the journalist was involved in a motorcycle accident along Kiambu Road.
However, immediately after the call, another woman from the police station called back to inform the relative that Apollo was dead.
The second woman told the relative that Apollo was first taken to Kiambu Level Six Hospital where he succumbed to injuries. The body was transferred to Nairobi Funeral Home, formerly City Mortuary, around 1am on Thursday.
However, the narrative took a different twist when the relatives visited the police station Sunday. They were informed that Apollo was first taken from the scene of the accident to St Teresa’s Hospital by an ambulance and was later transferred to Kiambu Level Six Hospital.
“We have not been told who took him from the accident scene to St Teresa’s Hospital, we also do not know who paid for the ambulance that was used to transfer him to Kiambu Level Six Hospital,” the relative said.
He added that the police told him that the motorcyclist who hit Apollo only sustained minor injuries and had been discharged from the hospital, without giving him any other details about the rider.
Now, the family wants to know why the police easily released this motorcyclist yet he was the only suspect in the incident that resulted in their loved one’s death. The two conflicting reports on Apollo’s death are not adding up with the family revealing that there are no records whatsoever of Apollo being admitted or transferred from the two hospitals.
With Level Six hospitals having mortuaries, the family also wants to know why their loved one was taken to Nairobi Funeral Home where he was booked as an unknown male adult yet he had his identification documents with him at the time of death.
On their part, the police said the journalist was not immediately identified but the body was moved to the mortuary pending autopsy.
Apollo was living in an apartment named Tsavo not far away from the scene of the accident.
By the time the media learnt of his death, there had been reports that he had been hit and killed by a speeding car on the night of Thursday, April 10 along Valley Road.
Another report indicated that the deceased was crossing Kiambu Road when he was hit by a speeding car whose driver did not stop.
According to the police, Apollo is believed to have been crossing the road on foot when the accident happened.