Bullet still lodged in ex-Garissa staff Mukhtar's head

Former Garissa Finance Executive Idriss Mukhtar addresses the media. He is in a coma after being shot in the head. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr David Mwai, a suspect, died at Parklands Police Station in Nairobi. Police said he committed suicide.
  • In a letter dated October 17, 2018, replying to a query by lawyer Charles Kanjama, Mr Haji dismissed as false suggestions that his office is favouring some suspects.

Medics in India said they had done all they could, but it did little to change the condition of former Garissa Finance Executive Idriss Mukhtar who was still in a coma after being shot in the head in August last year.

They said home-based care would be the best option at the moment, so Mr Mukhtar’s family brought him back to Kenya on January 21.

A bullet is still lodged in his head, but doctors believe it would be too risky to remove it.

A relative of Mr Mukhtar, who did not wish to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told the Nation that the family had converted one of his rooms into an intensive care unit, complete with an adjustable bed, a suction machine, and heart rate and blood pressure monitors, among other devices,

“We have hired two ICU nurses: one for the day and one for the night. We have also hired a physiotherapist for daily sessions and engaged a doctor who can advise in case there are any breathing complications,” the relative said.

“We are buying all the drugs. The medics gave us a list of what is required, and it is very expensive. But there is no option,” he added.

MWAI'S DEATH

Mr Mukhtar, 34, was shot in his car on the night of August 19, 2018 in Kileleshwa.

CCTV footage led to the arrest of Mr David Mwai, suspected to have pulled the trigger. But he died at Parklands Police Station in Nairobi. Police said he committed suicide.

Two other suspects, Mr Mohamud Hussein Aden and Ms Juliet Njoki, are facing trial over the attempt on Mr Mukhtar’s life.

The relative said Mr Mukhtar’s family is disappointed by the way investigations are being conducted.

“Those who are supposed to be prosecuted for planning and [carrying out] the attack are still free. It is now as good as dead. It seems as if it has been covered up,” he complained.

INJUSTICE

But Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji has denied claims of favouritism.

In a letter dated October 17, 2018, replying to a query by lawyer Charles Kanjama, Mr Haji dismissed as false suggestions that his office is favouring some suspects.

“This office does not act on rumours, conjecture, innuendo or contrived theories in making prosecutorial decisions, but is purely guided by evidence and law,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Nation has learnt that Mr Mukhtar’s father, Dr Aden Mukhtar, is planning a press conference in Nairobi this week, where he plans to make a “major” announcement.