- A licensed firearm holder is always supposed to ensure the safety of their gun.
- Apart from the charges, the team handling the case also plans to recommend an inquest into the death of the boy.
Image: FILE
The focus has shifted to the ballistic analysis of two guns belonging to the nominated MP David Sankok following the death of his son at their home in Narok County.
Police took his shotgun and Ceska pistol found in the house for analysis and examination.
They also collected shells believed to have been discharged from the shotgun, which now they believe Memusi Sankok, 15, used to blow up his head.
The detectives at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations want to understand how Memusi could handle the shotgun to shoot himself in the chin.
An autopsy conducted on the body revealed the cause of Memusi’s death was a gunshot to the chin that exited through the head.
Detectives will be seeking to establish whether the bullet head recovered at the scene was shot from the firearm.
They will also be keen to match the fingerprints on the trigger of the shotgun to the deceased.
“Unless it was redesigned, it is hard for a 15-year-old boy to operate the shotgun. It has a long handle,” said an officer aware of the probe.
Narok County DCI boss Mwenda Ethaiba said the guns are at the DCI headquarters, and experts will report on their usage.
He said they had confirmed Sankok is a licensed firearm holder.
“The weapons were legally held by the MP. They are now under examination,” he said.
Ethaiba said they have so far recorded statements from 10 people, including Sankok, his wife and daughter, as well as workers at his hotel who were at his home at the time of the incident.
It is alleged that the legislator differed with the son over his delay to report back to school before a verbal altercation ensued between them.
His son, who was angry at the time, is suspected to have gone for a shotgun in a safe and used it to blow up his head.
Police are planning to recommend that Sankok be charged with negligence in handling his firearm.
A licensed firearm holder is always supposed to ensure the safety of their gun.
Apart from the charges, the team handling the case also plans to recommend an inquest into the boy's death.
The probe file will be sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions with the recommendations, police said.
Sankok was Tuesday grilled by police over the incident.
His son was a Form Three student at Kericho High School.
According to the family, the boy was to return to school last week.
The father, who was out of the country, sent pocket money and cash for shopping.
“He instead disappeared from the home only returned on Sunday. The father also returned home that very day,” said a family friend.
According to officials, the father summoned the boy for a talk on Monday morning. The boy reportedly insisted he was “tired with school”.
But after a lengthy discussion, the boy gave in, and they agreed to go back to school on Tuesday, accompanied by the father.
No one was in the house then because all other family members had stepped out. The MP left the homestead and went to his hotel nearby for a political meeting.
At around 3 pm, the boy accessed the mother's handbag and took the keys to the bedroom and the safe.
After opening the safe, he took the weapon and shot himself in the chin, with the bullet exiting through the back of his head. His sister and brother were also outside.
It is his brother who stumbled on the body moments after the incident.