The family of Simon Warui, 26, who went missing from his home in Umoja, Nairobi, only to end up dead in a Mombasa police cell is still seeking answers.
Simon Warui worked at an electronics store in Nairobi. He was allegedly arrested on the orders of his boss, who accused him of stealing money.
Here is the chronology of events from disappearance to death:
Sunday, September 14: Simon Warui reported missing from his home in Nairobi’s Umoja I Estate. His wife Mary Njeri files a report at the Kamukunji Police Station.
September 17: Warui’s wife receives a call from a security guard at the Holy Ghost Cathedral along the Late Nkrumah road in Mombasa. He informs her that Warui had been booked at the Mombasa Central Police Station.
It is not clear how Warui, who had no known reason to be in Mombasa, traveled to the city.
A nun who saw him at the church reportedly notes he was not in a normal state of mind.
His family makes plans and travels down to Mombasa to look for their kin. Sadly, they never saw him alive again.
Thursday, September 18: Simon Warui found dead in a police cell at the Mombasa Central Police Station. Officers stated that while Warui was in the toilet, they heard a loud bang and rushed in, only to find him on the floor, lying in a pool of blood.
Police claimed he fell while trying to scale a wall inside the cells, an account his family has rejected.
Friday, September 19: News reports emerged, and Warui’s family began demanding justice and a speedy investigation, believing the police’s explanation was a cover-up.
September 21: A post-mortem examination at the Coast General Hospital reveals Simon Warui died from a fractured neck and internal bleeding, which led to oxygen deprivation in his brain.
Simon Warui: Wife Speaks
Simon Warui’s wife is heartbroken and has more questions than answers.
“We just want to know what really happened. They are saying he killed himself, but he did not. My husband was not that kind of person,” Mary said.
Even their young daughter is missing her father, perhaps not understanding she will never see him alive again.
“He was our happiness. Even now my child keeps asking for daddy. Whoever did this must face justice. The pain my child has is too much. When the phone rings, she says it is daddy. This is too much for an innocent child. I just want the truth,” she said.
Even his relatives and human rights groups are not convinced.
“If it is true he committed suicide as they suggest, then why would he do it in Mombasa and not in Nairobi or at home?” activist Walid Sketty asks.
His brother, Antony Kariuki, questioned why police were not being transparent.
“We went to Central Police and saw they even have CCTV. We want to know in what state Simon entered the cells, and if he was alive, why he left the cells dead.”
Sadly, Simon Warui’s death in police custody is not an isolated case, but part of a worrying trend in Kenya.
Detainees have died under unclear circumstances, like Raymond Nachibati, 33, who died in a Kakamega cell just hours after his arrest in August. And teacher Albert Ojwang, 31, who lost his life after a brutal assault at Central Police Station, sparking national protests.
By Vivian K.