• Witness and suspect performed the first autopsy in March 2015 and established a clot on the left coronary artery as the cause of death.
• She says suspect has not availed the organs yet he had asked for an unknown timeframe.
Image: FILE
A pathologist has said she didn't record the tissues taken for histology in a case where her former chief government colleague is charged with heart theft.
Pathologist in charge of Meru Level 5 Hospital Dr Scholastica Kimani told Meru chief magistrate Hannah Ndung’u that she packaged the heart and kidney of Benedict Karau to give to Dr Moses Njue.
She said, however, that she did not record the organs hoping Njue would inform the family, as he did not have their consent.
State counsel Antony Musyoka questioned whether it was in their practice to omit such records in the report but Kimani said it was not.
Kimani and Njue performed the first autopsy in March 2015 and established a clot on the left coronary artery as the cause of death.
Karau’s son, lawyer Charles Mwongela, obtained an exhumation order and sought for a second autopsy.
Testifying on Tuesday during the hearing of the case, Kimani said histology takes two weeks to complete adding that to date, Njue had not presented the organs yet he had asked for an unknown timeframe.
“I’m not aware whether the organs have been availed as I appear in this court today," she said.
When asked by defence Lawyer John Abwuor if she should have been charged alongside Njue, she replied, “I don’t know why I was not charged alongside my colleague."
“I do not have anything tangible to show that Njue took the organs, so it is difficult to convince the court of the missing organs because I didn’t record anywhere yet I packaged,” she said.
Kimani and Njue were accompanied by some students from his Kings Medical College when he insisted on taking the heart to perform histology to back his claim, the court heard.
The court was told that although the deceased–a former Ankamia assistant chief–had visible head, face and upper arm injuries, the finding could not be considered as the cause of the death to the 70-year-old.
The second postmortem was undertaken by government pathologist Dr Johansen Odour, Dr Sylvester Mainge, Kimani and Njue but was inconclusive with the missing organs.
Last year on June 18, Njue denied charges of stealing, removing and destroying a body part of a deceased person before chief magistrate Lucy Ambasi.
The court heard that on March 12, 2015, while at the Consolata Hospital during a postmortem exercise on the body of Karau, Njue stole the heart that came to his possession by the virtue of his profession as the chief pathologist.
On the second count, the doctor was charged with destroying evidence.
The prosecution told the court that between March 12, 2015, and September 18, 2015, Njue destroyed the heart after stealing it, knowing it might be required as evidence in judicial proceedings. This allegedly happened at the Meru funeral home in Imenti North subcounty.
In the third count, he was charged for illegally removing of parts of a body contrary to the Anatomy Act.
The former state officer was released on Sh500,000 bail.
The case will proceed on November 25.
Edited by R.Wamochie