A family in Bondo is demanding justice after their son died while in police custody in Bondo, Siaya county.
The family of Samuel Odhiambo, 38, wants officers at Usenge police station to explain circumstances that led to his death.
Odhiambo, from Goma village in Central Yimbo location, was detained at Usenge police station on February 6, but died on February 11, at Bondo subcounty hospital where he had been taken by police for treatment.
The police said Odhiambo was injured after he jumped off a moving police vehicle and fell on the road while being taken from Bondo law courts.
According to police records, Odhiambo was arrested for the alleged raping of a neighbour, who reported the matter to the village elder.
Odhiambo’s brother, Charles Otieno, who talked to him on Monday, said he was taken to court by two uniformed officers.
“He called me using a phone that he borrowed from a man in the cell at 5am saying they were being taken to court,” Otieno said. It was the last communication he had with his brother. On Monday, he was reportedly arraigned in court but failed to take a plea after the court refused to register the case.
“We’re told the court refused to register the case due to lack of a P3 form from the complainant,” Otieno said.
Otieno said while at home, he received a phone call from a person who identified herself as a nurse at Bondo subcounty hospital at 9pm, informing him that an “Unknown African” patient had been brought by police. The caller said she got the relatives contacts from a piece of paper in the patient’s pocket. She said he was in critical condition.
Family members said they did not know their kin was dead until the hospital informed them.
“We were shocked to see his body... we are still seeking answers as to why we were kept in the dark despite the fact that police knew his home,” said an aunt to the deceased.
According to a medical report that was seen by the Star, Odhiambo who died at 12.49am sustained serious injuries on the head, hands, and legs. He was bleeding from his mouth and ears at the time he was taken to the hospital.
The report indicates that the police, who claimed to have picked the victim along Bondo-Kisumu road, booked him as an unknown African and left.
A source at the hospital, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the victim was brought with a police vehicle with registration number GK B204U.