The funeral for two brothers who died in Komo village in Thika, Kiambu County, was postponed after the family discovered their bodies had been gravely mutilated.
After a week of mourning, the bodies of Stephen Njoroge, 52, and his younger brother Francis Karanja Kanyari, 42, were set for burial at their remote village on Saturday, December 17.
The two are said to have died of cholera after eating a fish from the contaminated Komo River, which was recently turned into a raw-sewage dumping site by exhauster operators.
When family members went to collect their bodies from the General Kago mortuary, they discovered that a postmortem had been performed on their bodies without the approval of all family members.
John Njoroge, the deceased’s son, told journalists that he awoke early to prepare his father’s body for burial, only to discover that sections of his father’s body had been severed.
He claimed that attempts to obtain the father’s postmortem reports from the mortuary had been futile, but he later discovered that one of his aunties had gone behind their back to pursue the exercise.
He lamented the fact that the auntie had requested the autopsy without their knowledge, with the ulterior motive of transferring Njoroge’s land records to hers.
According to reports, the auntie has been involved in a long-running land dispute with Njoroge and has attempted to seize it several times.
Gladys Wangui, the deceased’s wife, stated that they reported the incident to the police, who advised them to come to an agreement on a course of action but to investigate the cause of Njoroge’s death.
Nelius Njeri, Karanja’s wife, said doctors told them the two brothers died of cholera and were perplexed as to why their sister-in-law requested another investigation.
Francis Karanja, another family member, stated that they were willing to wait up to two weeks for the burial to take place after the famous sister informed them that autopsy results would be released.
Following an increase in Cholera cases in Kiambu County, residents have urged Governor Kimani Wamatangi to take action and ensure that all households have access to safe drinking water.
Wamatangi banned food hawking a month ago in an attempt to control the Cholera outbreak in the county.
