The family of Oscar Owino, a 35-year-old man allegedly found dead at an apartment he shared with his partner, is calling on the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to initiate a fresh probe into the incident, citing suspicions of foul play.
In a letter addressed to Mr Mohamed Amin, the family expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which the Nyali police had handled the case and raised concerns about the circumstances surrounding Owino’s death.
Oscar Owino passed away, with the last person seen with him being his colleague, Pheny Kisasati.
The family’s letter read, “Kindly treat this letter as a distress call and extreme apprehension as to the manner in which we, as the family of the deceased, have witnessed and understood the ongoing investigations.”
Furthermore, the family revealed that they had attempted to engage in dialogue with the last person seen with Owino, but they noticed inconsistencies in her statements.
As of now, no person of interest has provided a statement to the police regarding the deceased’s death.
The family outlined several concerns that have left them questioning the integrity of the detectives handling the case. These concerns included discrepancies between the postmortem report and the alleged fall injuries, conflicting accounts of events, and inconsistent statements made by Ms Kisasati.
“We are in receipt of the postmortem report that is inconsistent with injuries of the alleged fall. In addition, the chronology of events is hugely conflicting the natural flow and timeliness of activities thereafter,” the statement further read.
According to the family, the police’s statements and the Occurrence Book (OB) entries contradicted each other regarding the location and timing of the body’s discovery.
The family also mentioned that a police officer had informed them about the incident over an hour before the body was recovered, yet they were unable to locate the officer afterward.
“We have not been able to trace the said police officer since then, we however have her telephone number from which she called,” the statement further read.
Furthermore, none of the neighbors at the Royal Beach Apartments had been questioned by the police, and the security guard on duty during the incident had proceeded on annual leave.
The family also expressed frustration at the lack of contact with employees at the Maasai Lodge Hotel, where Owino and Kisasati were last seen.
The security company supervisor that oversees the apartments warned the family not to return to the premises in pursuit of justice.
In a statement, Daniel Masamba, the Nyali Sub-County police commander, confirmed that Pheny Kisasati was in police custody regarding the murder incident.
“Investigations are ongoing the suspect is in our custody awaiting the completion of investigations,” he said.
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He refrained from providing further details to avoid compromising the case.
“The matter is under probe right now. l cannot release more information for fear of jeopardizing ongoing investigations. Let us be patient once investigations are over l will issue a comprehensive brief,” he added.
The incident was recorded under OB number 02/14/08/23 at Nyali police station, and according to the police statement, Kisasati claimed that Owino had been drinking on the balcony before disappearing.
“He took too long to come back, which prompted her to check on him. However, she did not find him and decided to search for him in other rooms within the house in vain. Later, she went downstairs and found the boyfriend lying dead,” read the police statement.
According to police, she raised the alarm where guards drawn from the Texas Alarm and neighbours responded.
“Necessary actions were taken, scene processed and the body removed to Pandaya Memorial mortuary awaiting to undergo postmortem exercise,” added the police report.
The family now seeks answers, justice, and a thorough reinvestigation into the mysterious circumstances surrounding Oscar Owino’s death.
