Dr. Moses Njue, former Chief Government Pathologist, and his son, who was accused of stealing a heart from a dead body at Lee Funeral Home, were released by a Nairobi court due to a lack of evidence.
Milimani Chief Magistrate Wendy Kagendo acquitted Njue and his son Lemuel Anasha Mureithi Njue of all charges of stealing multiple body parts from the late polygamous man Benedict Karau.
The pair were charged with three counts of theft, willful destruction of evidence, and illegal removal of body parts.
“I conclude that the prosecution has failed to establish a prima facie case against the accused. I acquit them under Criminal Procedure Code Section 210. (CPC). I order that their cash bail be returned to them.” Ruled the magistrate.
The magistrate dismissed the case after the prosecution failed to present any evidence of theft or removal of a heart from a dead body belonging to Karau at Lee Funeral Home in 2015.
The magistrate also determined that the prosecution failed to establish that Njue and his son destroyed the alleged stolen heart from the deceased body.
“It is sympathetic that a person hired to conduct a postmortem on a deceased person found himself in the dock on allegations of body part theft,” the magistrate said.
While reviewing the prosecution’s contradictory evidence, the magistrate noted that the dates on which the two pathologists were alleged to have secretly removed the man’s heart while performing a postmortem on his body were different.
Magistrate Kagendo condemned the state’s action in charging the former government pathologist and his son without sufficient evidence in her decision.
The magistrate noted that one of the prosecution witnesses who testified in the case stated that the alleged stolen heart was properly packed and stalled.
The accused persons burst into tears immediately after the magistrate ruled that they had no case to answer and claimed that they had suffered for no reason for the past seven years.
“I thank God that I and my son are now free and that all allegations against us have been dropped. It’s been upsetting because I worked for the government for many years with no allegations of misconduct and was only charged when I retired “Njue sobbed as she spoke.
