Body of DCI officer found in Teso home, police probe death

Police in Teso North, Busia County, have launched investigations into the death of an officer attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations whose lifeless body was found inside his house.

The body of corporal Humphrey Mureithi was found by colleagues after the door to his house was broken to allow access to the house on Tuesday afternoon.

Teso North subcounty police commander David Muange who confirmed to the Star about the incident said Mureithi was to report on duty on Tuesday but the officer failed to do so.

This prompted his colleagues to drive to his official residence next to Amagoro Primary School to find out if he was unable to report for work.

“The other officers had been calling him in the morning but all the calls went unanswered,” Muange told the Star on the phone.

“They drove to his residence and tried calling him again at the door step but they received no answer yet the house was locked from inside. We had to cut the door to get access to the house only to find him on the bed dead.”

He was naked, officers who picked the body said.

Mureithi’s body was taken to Life Care Hospital Mortuary in Bungoma.

A DCI officer who spoke to the Star said a friend to the deceased had notified one police officer that he had unsuccessfully tried reaching him.

“His friend called the officer and told him he wanted to speak to Mureithi but the deceased was not picking calls,” the DCI officer said.

Mureith’s friend, then, was in Uganda.

“We assumed that maybe he was fatigued and was asleep. We called him after the night because he delayed reporting to work but did not pick our calls. That is when we decided to go to his house only to find him dead.”

Neighbours who spoke to the Star said Mureithi had been jovial before his body was discovered in his house.

Colleagues who spoke to the Star described Mureithi as a social man who freely interacted with other officers and members of the public.

“He was a jovial man who never entertained unnecessary disagreements,” one officer at Amagoro Police Patrol Base said.

Another officer attached to the DCI said Mureithi will be remembered for his fulltime dedication to work.

“He was always available for work. He loved what he did and we will surely miss him,” he said.

Neighbours said Mureithi was always on standby to help those who needed assistance provided he was in position to give aid.

“He was polite and freely spoke to everyone where we lived,” a neighbour said.

Mureithi, by the time he died had served the DCI in Teso North for two years.