Blame game clouds search for what caused Senator Mutula Kilonzo's death

An alleged tampering of specimens and a family stand-off stands in the way of Kenyans knowing the real cause of death of the late Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo.

Communication in our possession shows clear inconsistencies in how up to 50 different specimens collected from the late senator’s body as well as from the scene of his death in his Maanzoni Ranch house were dealt with upon being received by a family appointed pathologist in the United Kingdom.

Pathologist Ian Madison Calder, in a series of email communication and hand-written letters seen by The Standard on Sunday, says he is unable to give a conclusive report on the cause of Mutula's death, since a batch of specimen he received from fellow pathologists in Nairobi had been tampered with.

Speaking to The Standard on Sunday on the telephone from his London home yesterday, Dr Calder insisted that the package containing the specimen weighing approximately 6kg was not in good condition when it got to him.

These allegations have been dismissed by one of the lead family-appointed pathologists in Kenya, Dr Andrew Gachie, who has been accused by some family members of  not being forthright in regard to the death.

Disturbed

“I am very disturbed by what some of them, particularly Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jr, say over these allegations. I have continuously kept them in the loop regarding the whole process and have raised my concerns several times regarding the whole process with the family,” Dr Gachie told The Standard on Sunday.

Dr Gachie says there were only two batches of specimen collected during the postmortem examination of the late senator. “One batch left for the Government chemist and another batch left for the United Kingdom to an address provided by and to a contact person given by Dr Calder,” says Dr Gachie

Although the postmortem examination ended on Tuesday, April 30, after a six-hour procedure, the specimen left for the Imperial College in London days later.

“Anyone with professional integrity would want to make sure the address provided was correct. After the procedure, I remained the custodian of the specimen. We finished late that night, so it was agreed amongst all of us — pathologists and family — that the specimens stay overnight at Lee Funeral Home for collection the next day,” he says.

According to Dr Gachie, the specimens were indeed collected the next day and taken to the Nairobi Hospital lab, where they were stored under lock and key in a refrigerated strongroom.

No one had access to the specimen. “After sealing the containers, each one of us had to sign the seal. There was absolutely no way anyone could have tampered with them,” he added. “The next few days were spent confirming the address of the contact provided by Dr Calder. Once this was done, the specimens were sent.”

The sensitivity of the matter demanded that a speciality courier service be appointed to make the trans-Atlantic delivery. Global courier services TNT was identified. This is a company, according to Dr Gachie, that the Nairobi Hospital uses in the movement of sensitive biological cargo.

On May 9, 2013, the Nairobi Hospital sent the specimen to Dr Sue Patterson/ I Calder. Department of Toxicology Imperial Medical College St Dunstan Road, London. On May 13, the delivery was made to the address, and was received by one Mr Mendez, who signed that the package was in good condition.

“After this, we sat back and waited for Dr Calder’s report. From our end, everything was OK. But by the fourth week we had no news from London. So I tried getting him on phone or on email, but to no avail. He went silent for the next three months,” Dr Gachie said.

Time frame

It was way past the time frame given by the local pathologists. Dr Gachie had at the time of Mutula’s death promised to give final findings within six weeks.

“This was a respectable time frame from initial dealings with other labs in South Africa,” he says.

Dr Gachie says he only got through to Dr Calder in October, almost six months after the samples were delivered in London. “He then told me he was going on vacation and would only be available after three weeks. After this, I told Junior of my fears over this delay and asked him for alternative communication channels,” Dr Gachie says.

From then on, Dr Gachie says, Dr Calder begun communicating directly with the family. This is when he raised the issue of the tampering with specimens in a November email to the family.

“The question is, why would a doctor of repute wait almost six months to say specimen of such a sensitive nature had been tampered with? This is the sort of thing that should be interrogated immediately the specimens have been received,” Dr Gachie says.

Dr Gachie says if at all there was any tampering, the pathologist in charge should at least give a breakdown of which of the specimens was tampered with and how it was done.

“Also, in pathology, you never do away with specimen until the matter under investigation is concluded. The family has the right to demand that the late Mutula’s samples are sent back to Nairobi or any other lab of repute outside Kenya for further interrogation,” he said.

The Standard on Sunday was able to reach Dr Ian Calder on phone. He said he was in car and requested that we call back after half an hour when he got home after giving an alternative land-line, saying the mobile phone he had was not clear enough.

More attempts to reach him on this new number were not fruitful, as the line was busy. We, however, got to him an hour and a half later through his landline, where he declined to comment on the questions posed, citing doctor-client confidentiality.

“I would not want to comment on this matter since all the information in my possession technically belongs to the family. I will have to get in touch with them before I tell you anything,” Dr Calder said.

The Standard on Sunday was in no way pursuing the medical records of Mutula Kilonzo. We, however, wanted to confirm a few pertinent questions such as the alleged specimen tampering and the so far ghost preliminary report that he says, in his emails, he sent to Dr Gachie.

Dr Calder advised that all queries be addressed through email, which he would relay to lawyers and the late Senators family members. He also mentioned that he might not be in a position to respond immediately since he may be embarking on a two-week holiday.

When contacted, Mutula’s widow Nduku Kilonzo said she did not wish to comment on such a private family matter.