Killed Murang’a alleged robber was shot nine times – Autopsy

Friday, March 17th 2023

One of the two men that were killed following a bank robbery in Kigumo, Murang’a County, was shot nine times, some at close range, a postmortem report has revealed.

According to Pathologist Kamotho Watenga, the victim identified as Joseph Kamau Kang’ethe succumbed to multiple gunshot injuries, three of which were shot in the head at close range.
Six other bullets hit the chest and abdomen region and seemed to have fragmented as no exit wounds were found.

“We could not find the six bullets and the body will have to undergo an X-ray to show exactly where the fragments are located so they can be retrieved so that all parties are satisfied,” Watenga said.

An X-ray is expected to be conducted at Murang’a Level five hospital and a radiologist report issued on Friday.

Kang’ethe was one of two suspects whose killings have sparked public outrage, with questions over police involvement in their deaths.

A picture doing rounds on social media showed the two suspects handcuffed together and surrounded by multiple policemen.

A report by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations however alleged that a shootout had occured before the two were felled.

Human rights experts, lawyers and many other Kenyans, have accused the police of deliberately killing the two men despite having them in custody already.

According to lawyer Cliff Ombeta, the deaths of the two men and the subsequent explanations issued by the police point to extrajudicial executions.

“They don’t show you the cartridges from the other guns,” Ombeta said in response to a media statement by Central Regional Commissioner Fredrick Shishia, which denied police involvement in the deaths.

“These suspects are put in a very aligned position. That shows you that these people were laid down and executed. So at what point then were these people really shot. He [Fredrick Shishia] doesn’t really explain that. That really begs an answer. This was an extrajudicial killing and there is no other explanation,” said Ombeta.