It was all tears at KU Mortuary on Thursday as friends and some relatives of the two brothers killed in Kitengela gathered to view their bodies for the last time ahead of burial on Friday.
Fredrick Muriithi, 30, and his younger brother Victor Mwangi were bludgeoned to death on August 8 by a mob in Kitengela on suspicion of being cattle thieves.
Friends turned up at 8am to view the remains of the two adventure-loving youths who will be buried in Nyandarua.
The family will leave the mortuary at 5am on Friday.
The deceased's uncle Joseph Macharia told the Star that the family had decided to allow friends and relatives, who might not be able to attend the burial in the countryside, to view the bodies and pay their last respect.
"The people had said the 5am departure time is too early and many won't make it. That is why we decided to allow them bid farewell to their friends today before they are rested," Macharia said.
The two were part of four people killed during the 6pm incident in Kitengela. The other two were Mike George, 29, and Nicholas Musa, 28.
George was buried in Kisii on Thursday while Musa's burial is set for tomorrow in Ukambani.
A postmortem examination of the body of the two brothers done on August 12 showed they were repeatedly hit on the head with a blunt object, rupturing the soft tissues.
The injuries inflicted caused internal bleeding in the brain tissues, a postmortem report shows.
Mwangi's chest also bore extensive bruises suggesting that he endured merciless beating and was being dragged on the ground, his chest down.
There were also cuts on the forehead, ranging between four and seven centimetres, the exercise showed.
It also showed that the repeated blunt force beating inflicted trauma on the internal systems of the head.
For Muriithi, it said, though the head had no raptures, the global subgaleal had extensive contusions, a medical term for bruises.
The nervous system also had extensive bleeding, with report recording that he suffered “global subdural and subarachnoid haemorrhage.”
"(There were) deep contusions, extending to the muscles, on lateral aspect of both upper limbs, lower limbs, posterior trunk (and) anterior trunk," the report reads.
Further, he also suffered broken right shoulder. His right leg below the knee also got fractures, the report showed.
On the day the two died, they had left their house looking for a place to buy chicken in Kisaju area for a celebration to mark Mwangi's 26th birthday.
They stopped near a riverbank at Enkamulyat area, some 14km from Kitengela town.
Residents who saw motorbikes parked by the riverbank thought the owners were out to steal their cattle.
The residents raised alarm and without listening to the young men's pleas, descended on them with spears and clubs.
-Edited by SKanyara
