In a shocking incident that has made the police launch an urgent investigation into the cause of the suspect’s death, a murder suspect waiting to be processed at the Longisa Police Station in Bomet County was found dead on Friday morning.
The suspect, who was 33 years old, Antony Njenga Kariuki, was found hanging from the door of a toilet cell, apparently employing his own socks as a ligature.
Kariuki’s arrest had taken place at the beginning of the week when he was suspected of murdering his girlfriend, teacher Caroline Ngetich, in front of a business shop in Chepalungu Sub-County. The teacher, who was working at Cheptagum Secondary School, was found strangled near the couple’s residence; hence, the police took Kariuki into custody for further questioning.
Bomet East Sub-County Police Commander Michal Singa stated that the police found the dead body of Kariuki inside the cell during the morning routine, which had just begun, and consequently, the regular operations of the station were arrested.
The finding has brought about a two-fold investigation — one concerning the initial murder case and the other regarding the exact circumstances that led to the suspect’s death while in custody.
At first, the authorities made it known that Kariuki had committed suicide by hanging himself, but now the situation has changed and it is the opposite. The case is being re-examined under a microscope with the help of rights advocates and legal practitioners, who are already warning about the possibility of either custodial negligence or foul play involved.
Among the critics, there are those who easily point to the history of such incidents in Kenya, where deaths in police custody led to controversies. These had included situations where the autopsy results carried out by the police and independent ones differed.
According to the insiders in the National Police Service, investigators from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) will be coming to Longisa Police Station to do the supervision of the evidence collection, as well as the interviews of the arresting officers.
The families that are connected with past incidents like this one have been the ones calling for more transparency in the process, especially when suspects die before they even go through the arraignment.
Such an unexpected death happening in a police cell brings up very many questions regarding cell monitoring, the treatment of the detainees, and the protections that the Kenyan police custody system has set up. Human rights organizations insist that it is an absolute requirement for the police to provide proper supervision over detainees, especially in cases where they are charged with serious crimes.
They therefore call for a thorough and open investigation to be conducted to determine whether the death of the suspect was due to police malpractice or not.
The police have announced that the next step is to move the corpse of Kariuki to Longisa Hospital Mortuary while forensic teams are busy gathering the evidence. On the one hand, the homicide investigation that focuses on the death of Ngetich is still going, and on the other hand, the police interrogation of the case is going on. However, the public is still concerned, and therefore authorities are under pressure to provide answers.
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