Family hires UK expert for Mutula death probe

The family of Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo has contracted the services of a British pathologist to join the team investigating his death.

This was revealed as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) constituted a legal team to guide the investigations.

Senator Johnstone Muthama of Machakos, who is the chairman of the burial committee, Monday said that the postmortem was postponed to Tuesday to allow time for the independent pathologist to arrive from the UK. The expert is expected in Nairobi at 6 am.

The autopsy had earlier been scheduled for Monday, but the family opted for an independent expert opinion to clear any doubts. To ensure that thorough investigations are conducted, the DPP Tobiko Monday constituted a team of prosecutors and directed that it guides the team of detectives investigating the death.

The DPP’s team is headed by a senior assistant director of public prosecutions, Mrs Grace Murungi, who is also the head of the Department of Offences Against Persons.

On Sunday, CID director Ndegwa Muhoro said a team of senior police officers led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police had been formed to investigate the circumstances surrounding Mr Kilonzo’s death on Saturday morning.

The CID team is headed by Mr Pius Macharia, and includes former Gigiri CID boss Japheth Maingi and his Machakos counterpart Kavete Kuloba.

Mr Tobiko also directed the Inspector General of Police, Mr David Kimaiyo, to submit the inquiry file to his office for perusal and appropriate directions upon completion of the investigations.

Article 157(4) of the Constitution gives the DPP powers to direct the police boss to investigate any information or allegation of criminal conduct, and the police boss must comply with such directions.

Section 5 (3) of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, also gives the DPP similar powers.

Meanwhile, friends and relatives of Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo continued to stream to his homes in Maanzoni, Mbooni and Gigiri Monday to console his family as a family spokesman said Mr Kilonzo will be buried at his ranch in Maanzoni and not in his ancestral home in Mbooni.

A funeral service will also be held on Wednesday next week ahead of the burial scheduled for the following day.

At the senator’s Gigiri home in Nairobi, top officials from the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution led by the chairman, Mr Charles Nyachae, were among the visitors who went to condole with the family.

Mr Nyachae paid tribute to the senator, describing him as a leader truly committed to the implementation of the Constitution.

“We worked with him when he was the minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs. We remember him as a leader who fought for the adoption of the 2010 Constitution and thereafter, was keen to see it fully implemented,” he said.

“He was, in short, a fierce advocate of the Constitution. He provided the much required leadership in steering the implementation process.”

Mr Kilonzo’s immediate family lives in Gigiri where government officials and other relatives have been visiting them.

Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development director Lydia Nzomo was also among the mourners.

“We are shocked by the untimely death of the Makueni Senator. His contributions will have a far-reaching positive impact on the entire education sector,” she said.

The institute, she said, had operated without a clear legal framework since 1968 until Mr Mutula was transferred to the Ministry of Education in 2012 when he pushed for the formation of the institute through an Act of Parliament.

During his stint as the minister for Education, Mr Kilonzo successfully pushed all the pending Bills through Parliament till the last stages of enactment.