A family in Waa area of Kwale County is demanding justice following the death of their kin at the hands of traffic police in Salam, Makueni County.
Mohamed Masoud, a truck driver, is said to have met his end after allegedly being hit with a blunt object by police officers manning a roadblock in Salama area following an altercation.
He was en route to Mombasa from Tororo in Tanzania when the incident occurred.
Masoud’s family is however convinced that the police are to blame for their kin’s death with post-mortem results showing that he died due to head trauma caused by a blunt object.
“When I arrived at the police station on Monday, a senior traffic officer informed me that Masoud had been arrested by police. When they wanted to take him to the police post, he reportedly insisted that he must first inform his employer. I don’t know what transpired after that but I was called to come and identify the body,” Mwalimu Tsutsu, the deceased’s kin told Citizen Digital.
“Together with my other sibling and Masoud’s employer, Sharuk Mohamed, we made our way to Sultan Hamoud mortuary and we all noticed that my brother’s body had bruises on the head. A government pathologist confirmed today that my brother’s death was as a result of blunt force trauma to the head.”
Masoud’s employer, Mohamed, echoed Tsutsu’s sentiments that the deceased’s body had bruises on the head and face.
Police have since denied the claims saying that the deceased was running away from authorities when he fell into a ditch, sustaining the injuries that later killed him.
The police claim that after the botched escape attempt, they arrested Masoud who allegedly started developing breathing problems. Police claim to have immediately rushed him to a hospital in Sultan Hamud where they say he died while undergoing treatment.
The hospital’s management however told Citizen Digital that Masoud was already dead when he arrived at the facility.
“On 7th Aug 2023 around 8am, we received a body in a police vehicle from Sultan Hamoud police station carrying one Mohamed Masoud who was taken to our mortuary, the person had multiple injuries on the left hand and he also had right and left scalp bleeding with subdural hematoma and hemorrhage he also had linear skull fracture noted on the head,” Dr Jane Mwende, a medical supervisor at the facility said.
Masoud’s family is now calling for further investigations into the mysterious death of their loved one.
“It hurts to know that my brother passed away the way he did. He was a go-getter and the sole breadwinner for his family of six,” said Tsutsu.
