Police and the
Independent Policing Oversight Authority are investigating an incident where a
suspect allegedly died by suicide at the Kawangware police post, Nairobi.
The suspect identified
as Jack Leon Matoke, 35, had been taken to the station by locals on claims he
stole a motorcycle.
This was in connection
with a matter that had been reported on September 10, 2025, at Muthangari police
station.
Police said the suspect
was booked on Thursday December 11 at about 7.35 pm after being searched
pending his transfer to Muthangari.
More than an hour later,
police officers on duty said they heard a strange noise and rushed to check the
source.
The suspect was alone in
the cell.
Police said they found
him hanging on a piece of cloth that had been tied around his neck.
The cloth was hanging on
the cell door, police said.
Police said they rescued him and took him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
However, family members
say the explanation does not add up.
“When we arrived at the
City Mortuary and saw Jack’s body, we found marks on his neck. The marks looked
like they were drawn, similar to tattoos. Secondly, all the clothes that a
motorcycle rider normally wears were still on his body. I asked myself, where
is the item he used to hang himself? I did not see it,” Elphas Amakobe, a
family member, claimed.
Human rights activist
Hussein Khalid of Vocal Africa also questioned the police narrative.
“The story of Jack does not make sense. They claim he hanged himself using a T-shirt, but according to the family, he still had all his clothes on. There is no missing T-shirt. Secondly, we are asking the police where the alleged T-shirt is. It has not been availed to anyone. Thirdly, where were they, and how were they moving around with him for two to three hours until he died?” Khalid said.
Matoke leaves behind a two-year-old daughter. His family is now demanding an independent investigation and a postmortem to establish the true cause of his death.
“What I want is for us to know the truth about what happened and how he died,” his mother said.
Khalid said Jack’s death
is part of a worrying pattern.
“This is another death
in custody. There are too many deaths in custody in Kenya. In the last few
months, we have kept receiving reports of deaths in custody every other week,”
he said.
The body was preserved
at the City Mortuary pending autopsy and other investigations.
Such incidents are investigated by IPOA.
Meanwhile, police are
investigating an incident where thugs raided Gachirago coffee factory and stole
more than 6,000 kilos of dry coffee in Kaweru, Muranga County.
Police said a gang of
about 15 raided the factory on Wednesday dawn before tying the guards who were
on duty and carting away the sacks that they had come with.
Police said they
recovered three packaging sisal sacks, a penknife and a sisal string roll,
suspected to have been forgotten behind by the thieves.
The police are
investigating the incident. The guards on duty were slightly injured in the
drama.
In Dede, Awendo, Migori
County, two men were injured in a robbery incident.
The victims lost
Sh50,000 and electronic goods to the about five men who were armed with crude
weapons.
Police said they are looking for the gang for grilling.
