A family in Bondo within Siaya County is demanding for answers after their kin died in a police station.
Vitalis Okinda, 25, was being held at the Bondo Police Station where he died.
The family said that he had been in police custody since January 8 after being arrested for a minor traffic offence.
“He was arrested for a traffic offence and taken to the Bondo Police Station. However, a day later police called and said that he had died,” a member of the family identified as Domic Misolo said.
According to Misolo, they were informed about the death of Okinda by police officers who made a call to the family on Tuesday, January 11 morning.
“They arrested him when he was alive and kicking, how he ended up dead remains a mystery to us as a family. Police officers who were on duty for the two days he was there should be honest about his death,” he said.
The family demanded for an explanation from the authorities questioning what led to his death.
Speaking to K24 Digital on Tuesday evening, Bondo Sub-County police boss Roseline Chebosho dismissed claims that the deceased died inside the Bondo Police Station.
Instead, she said that Okinda died at Bondo Sub-County Hospital at around 11:29pm.
She said that the deceased fell sick and all they could do was rush him to the medical facility.
“I think at the station he was removed from the cell when he complained that he was sick. On arrival at the hospital, the doctor when checking him, declared him dead,” Chebosho said.
The family was claiming that Okinda was assaulted while inside the cells.
Chebosho dismissed the claims and assured the family that investigations had been launched to ascertain what had happened.
The body of the deceased was taken to Bondo Sub-County Hospital morgue awaiting postmortem.
