Police officers in Kiambu are investigating circumstances under which a suspected illicit brew dealer died as he was being grilled by detectives.
The mysterious death of the middle-aged man occurred at Kiaria location in Githunguri sub-county where the suspect is said to have collapsed and died while being questioned by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers based at the Githunguri Police station.Â
Kiambu police confirm
According to Githunguri Sub-county Police, Commander Mary Kaimenyi police had received a tip-off from members of the public that there were drugs and other illicit brews in the deceased’s house.
“On arriving in his house they started questioning him about the allegations whereby the suspect collapsed and became unconscious only to be pronounced dead on arrival at Githunguri’s Holy Family Catholic Hospital,” the police boss said.
The incident sparked fury among members of the public who accuse the police of killing the deceased.
They are now demanding that the police come clean on circumstances under which the victim died while in police custody.
Lucy Gathoni, the deceased’s wife, said Karanja arrived home in the company of another man. She left them in the house and went out to attend to other chores.
Shortly after, she heard strange people conversing with her husband in Swahili.
Gathoni rushed into the house and discovered that her husband, who she had left mixing milk for the family’s calves, had collapsed and had difficulty in breathing.
He was rushed to Githunguri’s Holy Family Catholic Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The woman said her husband was okay and had not complained of ill health prior to the incident.
“All I want is to be told who killed my husband because he had not complained about any health problem”, she said as she fought back tears.
Kinuthia Kariuki, the man who was with Karanja until the last minute, said he could not understand what happened to his friend immediately after the police came in.
He said that the deceased had all along cooperated with the police and that he was not subjected to any brutality.
Later at the hospital, police had to use tear gas to force the angry crowds out of the health facility where the body lay in a pickup truck waiting to be taken to the mortuary.
