Mombasa: The family of a 62-year-old retired Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) officer is demanding swift investigations into his death, after he was allegedly beaten and set on fire in circumstances that remain unclear to his relatives.
According to Kenya News Agency, the body of the deceased, who hailed from Rabai in Kilifi, was released from the mortuary in Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital Friday, ahead of burial planned for the weekend at his rural home.
Speaking to the press shortly after collecting the body, family spokesperson Hamath Zoka said the news of the killing had come as a shock, with relatives initially struggling to establish exactly what had happened before rushing to the mortuary to confirm the death. “We did not know how it happened, but we were informed that our relative had died after being beaten and burned. It is only when we arrived at the mortuary that we confirmed the tragic news,” Zoka said, adding that the family had since drawn strength from one another as they prepared for burial.
The deceased’s brother-in-law, Cain Lwambi, said he received a call informing him of the incident, with initial reports suggesting the victim had been attacked while at his farm. However, he said, details surrounding the attack remained scanty, prompting the family to push for a thorough probe. “This elder was a man who took care of his family, and he was killed in broad daylight, in full public view. This is a cruel act, and as a family we condemn it,” Lwambi said, urging security agencies to establish the motive behind the killing and bring those responsible to book.
He noted that the deceased was a retired civil servant who had served at KPA until his retirement, and that his sudden death had left behind a young family including children still in school. “A person cannot be killed in broad daylight while the law fails to take its course. We are demanding justice for this elder,” Lwambi said.
The deceased’s eldest daughter, Jane Malombo Baya, 23, said the family was now grappling with an uncertain future following the loss of their father, who was the sole breadwinner. “We are still young and in school. Who will pay our school fees? Our mother has no job,” she posed, appealing for support, even as the family comes to terms with the loss.
