Guards kill student in nightclub fight

Anthony Omuya | NATION
Psys, the club in Westlands where Denis (right) wanted to go and party.

Security guards outside a Nairobi nightclub beat to death a university student after a disagreement over admission.

Twenty-year-old Denis Omondi Adari, a second year engineering student at the University of Nairobi, died on Saturday, six days after the beating that left him in a coma.

Three guards attached to Dragon Security Company were arrested by police and initially charged with assault, but are now likely to face more serious charges.

The incident took place at around 3am, on the third floor of Unga House in Westlands on March 12.

Denis and five friends had been to various entertainment joints earlier and had intended to finish their party at Psys, Westlands.

But the bouncers at the entrance of the bar located on the ground floor of the building, refused them entry, because the club was full and it was nearly closing time.

Determined to get in, the youngsters accessed the building through the car park entrance. There are parking lots on the six floors of Unga House.

“Denis and Marshall (one of the friends) walked to the parking lot on third floor but the access door was closed. Denis found an open window and squeezed himself through. It’s then the guards confronted him,” said Gibson Muya, another of his friends.

Came back running

He added: “Marshall came back running after five minutes. He said there was a problem.”

The friends rushed up and saw Denis, who they fondly called “Moshi,” lying on the floor, surrounded by five guards.

They could not get to him because the window had been closed and only peeped through the glass.

“He was lying still. We could not see his face. He lay facing upwards,” said Gibson.

The guards refused to allow his friends in, saying they had called the police and had to wait for them.

The friends had to walk downstairs and plead with the building’s caretaker and the bouncers at Psys, to allow them to use their entrance.

After 40 minutes they were finally allowed in.

“He was still on the floor. Blood was oozing from his mouth. There were bloodstains on the floor. One of the guards said Denis had hit him. They said they were waiting for officers from Parklands police station,” according to Gibson.

The guards were also asking for Sh2,000 as compensation, saying Denis had caused damage to their property.

An officer at the Parklands station said they arrested the guards after the matter was reported to them and they saw the condition of the victim.

The guards were charged with assault at the Kibera law courts, where the police asked the court not to grant them bail because the victim had suffered “very serious” injuries.

Blackstar entertainment, which handles publicity for Psys Westlands said the brawl had not taken place at their premises and so their staff could not be drawn into the matter.

“He (Denis) was involved in an altercation with the security guards of Unga House where Psys Westlands is located. We also want to clarify that Psys Westlands bouncers were not involved in the incident,” said a statement by Blackstar Public Relations Officer Jazzani Minae.

Denis’ friends took him to MP Shah hospital after the guards agreed to release him, arriving there at around 5.30 am.

He was transferred to the Nairobi hospital later when he developed complications.

An initial report by the doctor showed he had suffered head injuries, probably inflicted by a blunt object.

A postmortem examination was carried out at the Lee Funeral Home on Monday.

Friends and relatives gathered at his parents’ home in Nairobi South B estate for funeral arrangements.

His father, Colonel Dr Adari is an officer with the Kenya Army.

Westlands is at the heart of the party scene in Nairobi and is frequented by tens of thousands of young people looking to have a good time every week.