Government Pathologist Refuses Postmortem on Protest Victims: Families Left Stranded

• Drama was witnessed at the Nairobi Funeral Home formerly known as City Mortuary on Tuesday, July 1
• This is after the government pathologist refused to carry out a postmortem on the bodies of those who were shot during the June 25 protests
• The families of the deceased were left stranded after the pathologist notified them of concerns about his security

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Faith Chandianya, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and Current Affairs in Kenya

Nairobi: Families who lost their loved ones during the Wednesday, June 25 protests were left stranded after the government pathologist at the City Mortuary refused to conduct a postmortem on the bodies.

According to the families, the pathologist cited safety concerns as the reason behind their decision to boycott carrying out the postmortems.

The disappointed families further stated that the pathologist had informed them that he was also under instructions to carry out postmortems on only two bodies.

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"We were here the other day, and we were told that a postmortem will be carried out on the bodies of their loved ones on Wednesday," one lady said.

The families stated that they sought more details from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).

The IPOA told the families that a postmortem was supposed to be carried out on the bodies to fully establish the cause of death. This information left the families stranded, not knowing what to do.

"They said they are waiting on IPOA to finalise the files of those who died in the protests. When IPOA officers arrived, they said they knew our child's postmortem was supposed to be carried out today. My question is, why are they disturbing citizens?" one relative questioned.

The exercise resumed later after the medic was persuaded to conduct the postmortem. However, he only attended to three bodies, leaving the remaining three unattended

The medic said he had only been contracted to work on two bodies, but had gone beyond his mandate to attend to an additional body.

Families of victims whose bodies were left unattended demanded answers from the government, some alleging a plot to cover up.

According to the report filed by the pathologist, all three bodies had gunshot wounds, suggesting they were likely shot during the June 25th Gen Z anniversary protests.

All three were under the age of 30, with the oldest being 29 years old and the youngest, 17.

Postmortem for the three remaining bodies is expected on Wednesday, July 2.

At least 16 people were killed and over 400 injured during the protests that broke out in 21 counties across the country.

Data from the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) indicates that the majority of the victims were young people under the age of 35.

Nairobi county recorded the highest number of casualties, followed by Machakos, Nakuru, and Makueni.

Did Johansen Oduor conduct autopsy on Ojwang's body?

This comes days after government pathologist Johansen Oduor declined to perform an autopsy on blogger Albert Ojwang'.

The autopsy, which was slated for Monday, 9 June, 10 am, was postponed to 2 pm as they waited for Oduor.

However, in a surprising turn of events, Oduor stated that his decision was due to a conflict of interest as Ojwang was reportedly a member of his extended family.

Oduor stated that before he could make a public announcement, he spent time with Ojwang's family engaging in private discussions.

Following the pathologist's decision, the autopsy was postponed to Tuesday, June 10.

Was Albert Ojwang' assaulted?

Finally, the autopsy was conducted by pathologist Bernard Midia, who ruled out the claim that Ojwang died from self-inflicted injuries.

Midia's report negated the police statement that claimed Ojwang' hit his head several times on the walls of his cell, causing his untimely death.

The pathologist stated that the injuries Ojwang' sustained pointed towards assault. He added that specimens were taken from the blogger's body for further analysis.

Midia stated that Ojwang's body showed signs of struggle.

He added that the blogger's body had injuries that were spread all over, including the upper limbs and the trunk.

Masolo Mabonga, HOD Current Affairs and Politics, updated this article with details on whether the autopsy resumed or not

Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.

Source: TUKO.co.ke