EMBU, Kenya – A government pathologist has cast doubt on police claims that two Embu brothers, Emmanuel Mutura and Benson Njiru, died after jumping from a moving vehicle, telling the High Court in Nairobi that their injuries pointed to fatal blunt force trauma instead.
Testifying as the seventh prosecution witness, the doctor said he conducted postmortem examinations on August 5, 2021, at Embu Level 5 Hospital in the presence of relatives and police officers.
For 19-year-old Mutura, the pathologist reported extensive facial and neck bruises, bleeding from the ears and nostrils, multiple skull fractures and brain lacerations. His clothing was intact.
“The cause of death was severe head injuries from blunt force trauma, not a fall,” he told the court.
Njiru, 22, was found with blood stains, facial deformities, a dislocated shoulder, compound leg fractures and chest and abdominal injuries. Internally, he had multiple rib fractures and extensive brain damage.
The doctor said he also observed marks consistent with dragging on a rough surface. He concluded Njiru died from “multiple blunt force injuries.”
While under cross-examination by defence lawyer Danstan Omari, representing some of the accused officers, the pathologist admitted that falls from vehicles can cause multiple injuries.
However, he insisted such incidents usually result in torn clothing and rolling patterns on the body, which were not evident in either case.
The brothers were reported dead on the night of August 1, 2021, after police alleged they leapt from a vehicle while being transported to Embu Police Station for breaching COVID-19 curfew rules. Their bodies were later found along Kiriari Road.
The deaths ignited mass protests in Kianjokoma, Embu County, and triggered nationwide condemnation, with human rights groups and the family accusing police of brutality and a cover-up.
Six police officers were subsequently charged with murder. The case, being heard before the Milimani High Court, has seen a series of testimonies that increasingly contradict the police version of events.
The latest testimony is seen as strengthening the prosecution’s case that the siblings were victims of excessive force while in police custody.
