- Prison authorities claim the man suddenly started foaming in mouth and gasping for breath before dying at the hospital.
- But hospital say the man was taken to the hospital already dead.
One day two weeks ago, a Nakuru family started suddenly receiving sympathy messages about Moses Moseti, their last-born son who was remanded at the local GK prison.
Panicking and fearful, their response was to dash to the Nakuru GK prison to check on the 34-year-old man.
No formal information was available, except informal bits and pieces that hinted that Moseti was no longer at the facility. He had been taken to the Nakuru general provincial hospital.
The man’s sister Sabina Maroro, says information available suggested that Moseti had been rushed to the hospital foaming in the mouth and panting for breath.
“They told us that he died at the casualty area awaiting to be attended to.”
Post mortem examination on Moseti’s body showed he died from asphyxia due to trauma on the neck, suggesting strangulation.
“The victim died due to lack of oxygen in the lungs and brain as he had hyoid bone fractured and congested liver after he was strangled,” the autopsy report by Dr Titus Ngulungu showed, firmly concluding a foul play.
The prison authorities have remained tight-lipped on the matter, with various guards giving contradicting accounts. But officers on duty on the day have since recorded statements with police officers from the Nakuru West police station.
The hospital’s record show that Moseti had been brought to the facility on September 8 already dead and was booked via an OB 126/8/9/2023.
“The guards are telling us various stories that he suddenly started foaming in the mouth and panting. But medical records show they brought him in already dead. All we want is justice for our brother. This is very sad,” Rose Maroro, another of Moseti's sisters said.
Information from the family indicates that the man landed in the remand prison in mid-June after differences with his father Samuel Maroro escalated.
The father had come back from his Kisii rural home to find the man had destroyed his cowshed and sold some of the materials, with the damage amounting to Sh13,000.
It was not the first time Moseti had done the offence, making the father resort to handing him over to police to help settle the matter and deter him from doing it further.
The old man did not know he was handing his last-born son to his death.
In the magistrate’s court, Moseti had been charged with malicious damage to property and was due for trial on September 20.
The family rules out any pre-existing health condition for their brother, saying that even on the day of his death, they had spoken to him and he was upbeat and well.
Joseph Maroro, his brother, said he spoke with him on the very day.
“He was jovial and happy when he called me to check on us. There was no sign in his voice that he was sick or distressed that he could die the same day. There is foul play here and all we seek is the truth and justice for my brother,” he said.
Nakuru west DCIO Charles Kamau says investigation are still going on but has made considerable progress as they have recorded the statement from the guards on duty.
“Investigation are still in the early stage but we have made progress in recording statements from the guards. The the autopsy has also been done, showing asphyxia as the cause of death,” he said.