ICC witness? 'No, this isn't his body' family tells Yebei relatives

ELDORET: The family of a matatu tout from Nandi has come out to claim the body of a man, which was previously thought to belong to International Criminal Court (ICC) witness Meshack Yebei.

The tout’s wife Saum Yusuf said her husband, Mr Yusuf Hussein, did not return home on Christmas day and 20 days later she still thought he was staying with relatives. The family had not reported his disappearance to the police.

“I thought he had gone to work as usual, there was nothing strange, he normally travels for a number of days but he usually comes back,” said Saumu.

The family said it was informed of Yusuf’s remains by police officers who visited their home on Tuesday afternoon. They were reportedly informed that biometric data results had indicated that the body lying at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital belonged to their kin.

“The last time I was with Yusuf was on December 24 and I had not heard from him until the CID officers visited his home and told them that his body was in the morgue in Eldoret,” said Mohamed Khamis, an Imam. Saum returned home from Saudi Arabia where she works a while ago and had only stayed with Yusuf for a few weeks before he disappeared.

Wednesday, the family asked the police to allow them to bury the body in accordance with Islam as investigations continue.

But the head of the Serious Crime Prevention Unit (SCU) John Kariuki said the body would remain in the morgue until a conclusive identity report is produced.

“We are asking the families to co-operate with the investigations. We will not allow anyone to bury a body that does not belong to them,” said Kariuki.

He said the proper results would be out by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, police Wednesday quizzed an Eldoret-based human rights activist who Jubilee legislators had accused of having a hand in the alleged killing of Yebei.

SCU officials led by Kariuki interrogated Ken Wafula for three hours over the abduction and killing of ICC witness Meshack Yebei.

“The officials came to my office following a request I made to them so that I could share information with them on the intrigues surrounding Yebei’s abduction and murder,” said Wafula.

Last week, Parliament Majority Leader Aden Duale flanked by over 20 Jubilee MPs linked Wafula, who is the Executive Director of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, to the murder of Yebei.