A joint autopsy conducted by three pathologists at Thika’s General Kago morgue shows that three out of four men who mysteriously died at Thika River near Del Monte pineapple farm drowned.
However, the postmortem has also indicated that two bodies had multiple injuries on the head, neck and other parts of the body but the injuries were not enough to cause their deaths.
According to doctor Benard Midiya, a pathologist who was hired by the families of the victims, they could not conclusively tell how the physical injuries on the bodies came about but it was an important finding that will aid investigations.
“We had a number of injuries that involved the head, parts of the neck and they are of various sizes and designs and they will be documented in detail in the required official format and they will assist in further investigations,” he told Citizen Digital.
On his part, Pathologist Geoffrey Mutuma who represented Del Monte appeared to downplay the injuries found on the bodies, saying that they were so minor and so superficial and they could not cause any death.
“Of course, the injuries were not that serious because what we look for is injuries that can be able to incapacitate somebody,” he said.
His remarks were watered down by the head of investigations at the Kenya National Commision for Human Rights (KNCHR), Kamanda Mucheke, who said that no injuries should be overlooked.
Kamanda noted that preliminary investigations from the KNCHR indicate that the four men were attacked by Del Monte security guards before they were forced into the river.
“We have spoken to some of the eyewitnesses, and the injuries we have seen today are consistent with the eyewitnesses’ accounts that these people were beaten by Del Monte guards. Another fact we have established is that these people were already subdued… that they were being pushed into the river as they were beaten by the guards,” he highlighted.
Contacted for a comment, Del Monte Kenya said they will issue an official statement once they gather all the facts.
The families of the deceased called for justice and asked the investigating agencies to speed up the process.
The bodies of the three have been identified as Mbae Mulumbi, 21, Bernard Mutua, 22, and Francis Muimi 34 while one body still lies unidentified.
It has been reported that the four were stealing pineapples at the Del Monte farm in Thika before they were caught and attacked by the guards on 21st December 2023.
Their bodies were retrieved in Thika River on Christmas Eve.
