Man's death in police cell cloaked in mystery

Simon Warui, was found dead inside Mombasa Central Police Station. [Courtesy] In a modest rented house in Kayole, Nairobi, a heavy silence lingers, broken only by sobs and the confused cries of a three-year-old boy now destined to grow up without a father. Mary Njeri says her life changed forever last week when her husband, 26-year-old Simon Warui, was found dead inside Mombasa Central Police Station-nearly 500 kilometres from their home. Until Sunday, September 14, Warui had been the family's sole breadwinner, working at a shop that sold home appliances. That morning, he left home, promising to return shortly. He never came back. "My husband left in the morning and promised to return soon. When he delayed, I called him. He said he'd call me back. That was the last time I heard from him. By evening, his phone was off. I stayed up all night waiting. He didn't call or come home," said Njeri. She reported him missing at Kamukunji Police Station the following day, but was told to wait 72 hours before filing a formal statement. On Tuesday evening, a statement was finally recorded. By Wednesday, Njeri's hopes were momentarily lifted when her brother-in-law called with news that Warui had been found in Mombasa. "I was relieved. I even told my son that his dad was coming back. But instead of welcoming him home alive, I was told he was dead. He was healthy and full of life, how did this happen?" she asked. The mystery of how Warui ended up in Mombasa remains unresolved. A security guard at Mombasa's Catholic Cathedral told family members that Warui appeared confused when he arrived at the church. Daniel Gicheha, a close friend of the deceased who travelled from Nairobi to Mombasa upon hearing the news, said the guard informed them that someone claiming to be a DCI officer from Kamukunji had instructed him to escort Warui to the nearest police station. Before that, Warui had eaten, showered, and rested at the church. "He was taken to Central Police Station in a tuk-tuk. When we left Nairobi, we were sure we'd bring him back alive. We arrived past midnight, but were told we couldn't see him until morning. After giving our statements to the DCI the next day, they showed us a washroom and claimed Warui had tried to scale the wall and fallen. There was a lot of blood. Then they took us to Coast General Hospital. That's where we found him, dead," said Gicheha. A post-mortem conducted at Coast General Hospital revealed that Warui died from neck fractures and a lack of oxygen to the brain caused by haemorrhaging. "How did he get to Mombasa? Why were we denied access when we arrived? We need justice. He's left behind a young wife and child," Gicheha added. Njeri is now grappling with both grief and uncertainty. Her young son, too little to understand the finality of death, keeps asking when his father will return. "The boy keeps asking about his dad. I no longer know what to tell him. It hurts so much. My husband loved us dearly. He was supportive, caring, and never quarrelled with anyone," she said. Warui's body lies at the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital mortuary. The family has said that he will be laid to rest this Friday in Mukurweini, Nyeri County.

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