Family claims features on body at Voi mortuary resemble Meshack Yebei's

The family of Meshack Yebei, the missing International Criminal Court (ICC) witness, have claimed that the body, which has been lying at the Voi Moi Referral Hospital mortuary in Taita-Taveta County since December last year is his.

It was the second time in two months that the family was making the startling claims. However, they said that although they are “92 per cent” sure from physical examination of the corpse that it belongs to Yebei, they will wait for a DNA test from tissue samples taken from the corpse yesterday, that is expected to be released after ten days.

Sources at the mortuary told The Standard on Saturday that specialists took away samples of the corpse’s nails and hair. It was not clear whether biometric information like fingerprints was taken. On Friday last week, police and hospital staff claimed CID officers from Nairobi took fingerprints of the body on January 19, but did not indicate if this information identified the corpse.

The family spent a lot of time examining the body and emerged from the mortuary convinced that it was Yebei due to the appearance of the forehead, toe nails and certain birth marks or scars on the knee and thighs.

Yebei’s widow Lillian and his brother Rev Moses Kisorio spoke with journalists outside the mortuary where the body has been lying since December 30, last year, after examining it for hours. They were accompanied by a pathologist who took the tissue samples.

Kisorio and Lilian said that from the physical appearance, they are almost sure they have recovered the ICC witness’s body.

“From the physical appearance, the resemblance is 92 per cent that of Yebei. However, we now have to rely on conclusive DNA tests results, which will shed light on the full identity of the body,” Kisorio said.

The widow maintained that she was convinced the body was Yebei’s. “I am sure the body is Yebei’s. I am convinced he is the one,” she told the press at the Voi hospital.

She was whisked away by rights activists before she could divulge more information.

“I will be composed and relaxed when I finally bury my husband,” she said. Yebei’s brother-in-law John Maiyo and sister-in-law Irene Ng’eny were also at the mortuary.

Also present was the Senior Crime Unit officer in-charge John Kariuki who led a team of CID officers from Nairobi who have been investigating the ICC witness’s disappearance.

Kisorio thanked human rights groups particularly Haki Africa, who were present during the exercise for offering them moral support. He described the Yebeis as a small and humble family that is just seeking justice.

Lancet Kenya group managing director, Ahmed Kalebi said the specialists had taken duplicate samples for DNA, which he said are tamper proof.

Voi Hospital Medical Superintendent Abel Mwenja, explained that pathologists conducted external examination of the body for identification and took samples for DNA analysis. “We expect DNA results within five to ten days,” he said.

The Standard on Saturday independently found out that a team of pathologists from Lancet Kenya who are acting on behalf of the family, and those from the Kenya Police Service, had taken samples from body for DNA test.

They also took pictures of the body parts after family members had identified some unique features. Haki Africa Executive Director Khalid Hussein, claimed the county had been turned into a dumping ground for dead bodies, and asked the Government to investigate the matter. He was accompanied by the organisation’s officials Salma Ahmed and Francis Auma.