![Bramwel Chakunza, who was assaulted by police on December 19, died on December 22 while receiving treatment at the Nyanchwa Adventist Mission Hospital in Kisii. [PHOTO | COURTESY]](https://k24.digital/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Screen-Shot-2020-12-25-at-10.39.02-AM.jpg)
Bramwel Chakunza, the 28-year-old man from Kisii County who died on Tuesday, December 22 after being assaulted by police officers for violating the dusk-to-dawn curfew, succumbed to abdominal injuries caused by blunt force trauma, a postmortem conducted on Thursday, December 24, has indicated.
Chakunza, who operated a cell phone repair kiosk in Kisii Town, was assaulted by police officers on Saturday, December 19.
Following the assault, Chakunza was rushed to Nyanchwa Adventist Mission Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. His body was later taken to Kisii County Teaching and Referral Hospital morgue, where a postmortem was conducted Thursday.
Pathologists Dr. Benjamin Ndibile and Dr. J.N Ombuya said the examination revealed that Chakunza’s stomach got ruptured and a lot of blood clogged in the abdominal cavity. The autopsy further indicated that Chakunza’s pancreas was damaged.
Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) on Thursday afternoon conducted an identification parade, where one of the cops, who brutally assaulted Chakunza, was positively identified by members of the public.
The key suspect was identified as Police Constable Boniface Maobi, who meted out the attack on the deceased at the Kisii Central Police Station.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Maobi kicked Chakunza in the abdomen, resulting in the detainee collapsing.
Maobi’s colleagues, who returned to the station from patrol, are said to have joined Maobi in assaulting the already-subdued Chakunza. All that while, Chakunza was lying on the floor unconscious as the cops stepped on him in turns.
Maobi was previously stationed at the Muthaiga Police Station in Nairobi. It was reported that while at the city police post, he assaulted a female university student in a bar.
Maobi was investigated and found guilty by the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU). Consequently, the Deputy Inspector General of Police Edward Mbugua directed that stern disciplinary action be taken against Maobi. However, it remains to be fathomed how the punishment settled on was Maobi’s transfer from Muthaiga Police Station to Kisii Central Police Station.
The Director of Internal Affairs Unit (IAU), Mohammed Amin, is leading the probe against Maobi.
