Pain and protest as kin seek justice for Julia Wangui

Grieving family members of Julia Wangui Kariuki gather at her home in Likii village, Nanyuki, as they prepare for her burial. [Amos Kiarie, Standard] A heavy cloud of sorrow hangs over Likii village in Nanyuki as the family of Julia Wangui Kariuki, 30, a mother of two, prepares to lay her to rest. What should have been a solemn moment of remembrance has turned into a tense standoff between grieving relatives and institutions they believe have betrayed them. Julia allegedly died in police custody following her arrest during the Saba Saba protests. The official explanation - that she died of natural causes - is one her family flatly rejects. A postmortem conducted at Nanyuki Cottage Hospital attributed Julia's death to a burst blood vessel in her brain. But her family insists the findings are part of a cover-up, citing inconsistencies in her medical care and a betrayal by the pathologist they thought was acting independently. "She was in a coma, and we were denied access to her," said her grandmother, Susan Kirigo Rienye. "The same people who corrupted the medical file had initially refused to give us the hospital report. We only received it this morning," she said. Susan said the family had hired a pathologist, introduced to them by a hospital worker and paid by Julia's brother. But during the autopsy proceedings, they learned the pathologist was a senior officer with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). "That's when it hit us - everything had been planned behind our back. We felt like the truth was being hidden from the start," Susan said. According to the government's report, Julia died of brain aneurysm - a natural cause. But the family is unconvinced. "The same pathologist we hired is the one who read the results. When she was introduced by her colleagues, we were shocked to learn she was actually a government pathologist," said Susan. "Julia had never even been admitted to hospital before. This explanation doesn't sit well with us." On July 15, Dr Peter Ndegwa, a forensic pathologist with the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU), said the full cause of death would be known after laboratory tests. He noted internal brain bleeding and organ abnormalities, though no external injuries were found. The family says the case has been mishandled from the outset. "On Wednesday morning, I arrived at Nanyuki Referral Hospital early and asked that Julia be transferred because her condition was worsening," said Susan. "At 8am, I requested a referral letter, but by 10:30am, nothing had been written. I hired a private ambulance to speed things up. But when it arrived, the nurse in charge refused to release her, saying they don't deal with private hospitals." She said Julia was only released at 11:30am - under heavy police escort. "A truck of officers followed the ambulance to Cottage Hospital. We were treated like criminals, not a grieving family trying to save our child." Even after Julia underwent a four-hour operation, the family says they were kept in the dark. "Dr Kamau told us to wait 48 hours for results but offered no explanation. Julia died at 12:45pm, and no one had briefed us," said Susan. When the autopsy results were released, the situation escalated. "I started shouting because Dorothy Njeru, the pathologist we had hired, was lying. They ran away - they didn't want to answer our questions," Susan said. Paul Ndaiga, a relative, said Julia had no known medical conditions. "These results don't make sense. We haven't seen all the medical records. We demand reports from the doctor who first saw her at Nanyuki Referral and the one who treated her at Cottage," he said, calling the two-week delay in releasing the autopsy findings a tactic to dilute accountability.

Pain and protest as kin seek justice for Julia Wangui

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Pain and protest as kin seek justice for Julia Wangui

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