Naivasha GK prison which houses more than 2,000 inmates is on the spotlight after an inmate serving a life sentence died under unclear circumstances.
The family of Simon Nduro accuses prison warders of beating their son to death and trying to cover up the matter.
But the prison management claims the prisoner was asthmatic, a claim the family has denied.
But three days after the inmate died, the prison department is yet to officially inform the parents who came to learn of the death through other inmates.
Addressing the press at Naivasha subcounty hospital mortuary, the inmate’s father David Gitahi Nduro said he received a message on Saturday from inmates informing him of his son's death.
An emotional Gitahi said according to the information, his son was beaten on Wednesday by warders who later locked him in one of the cells.
“His condition deteriorated and he died in the cell before his body was ferried to Naivasha mortuary,” he said.
While calling for justice, he added that his son had bruises on the ribs, legs and had foam on the mouth with several open wounds.
Gitahi added that on a visit to the prison on Sunday he was kept waiting for hours before being kicked out.
“My son was serving a life sentence for robbery. I spoke to him two weeks ago and he was of sound health,” he said.
A family friend, Kariuki Mathii, said he received a call from a warder informing him about the beating.
He added that there were ten inmates who witnessed the beating and were ready to give evidence.
“We are asking the DCI to intervene over this matter and we hope to conduct a postmortem in the course of the week to determine the real cause of death,” he said.
Contacted on phone, prisons director of operations Duncan Ogore said the patient had been suffering from asthma before his condition deteriorated.
“The inmate was rushed to Naivasha subcounty hospital after his condition deteriorated and was pronounced dead on arrival and the allegations of beatings are hearsay,” he said.
Edited by R.Wamochie
