• The autopsy failed to take place last Friday, causing the family, led by her father Barnaba Kangogo, to protest as they were forced to postpone the burial.
• Mark Kangogo, who is a brother to the deceased, said a burial date will be set after the autopsy.
Image: MATHEWS NDANYI
*Updated at 2:10pm to include autopsy results
An autopsy conducted on the body of police constable Caroline Kangogo suggests she died of a gunshot wound after a bullet went through her brain, head and skull.
Chief government pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor said the bullet entered the body through the right chin and exited on the left side of the head and there was a trajectory going through the spine to the brain.
“When I looked at the gunshot wound entry, it was a contact wound meaning the gun was on the skin,” he said.
Oduor said there was a hole caused by the bullet and areas of burning known as muzzle imprint on the skin.
He, however, said further investigations would be done to establish if Kangogo shot herself or she was shot by someone else.
“We have taken swabs from her hand to find out whether there was any gunshot residue, which will be able to tell us that,” Oduor said.
He said his duty was to establish the cause of death but further laboratory investigations would help to establish the manner of death.
Oduor said from the investigations report, the incident happened at the scene where the body was found.
Kangogo's body arrived at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret on Tuesday ahead of her burial in Elgeyo Marakwet county.
The body was moved from the Iten County Referral Hospital to MTRH where Oduor carried out the autopsy.
The autopsy failed to take place last Friday, causing the family, led by her father Barnaba Kangogo, to protest as they were forced to postpone the burial.
Mark Kangogo, who is a brother to the deceased, said a burial date will be set after the autopsy.
Barnaba and other family members were present for the autopsy.
Police said Caroline shot herself in a bathroom at her parent's home at Ngawa village near Iten as she was being sought over the killing of Constable John Ogweno in Nakuru on July 5 and Peter Ndwiga Njiru, 32, who was found dead in lodging in Juja, Kiambu county.
Circumstances surrounding her death raised a huge debate especially online as many Kenyans raised questions seeking to know if the officer shot herself dead or was killed by unknown people who may have stage managed the scene where the body was found.
Her father who is a former police officer however insisted that Caroline shot herself dead and that there was no need for speculation.
Homicide officers have however been investigating the matter and insisted on the postmortem being done.
Edited by CM