Embu: Grief as Family Finds Missing Teen in Mortuary, Allegedly Beaten by Police during Demos

Embu: Grief as Family Finds Missing Teen in Mortuary, Allegedly Beaten by Police during Demos

  • Benedict Muthomi, 17, had quietly left home days after being sent away from school for lack of fees, only to die in the chaos of police crackdowns
  • His grieving mother said he was last seen in Kiritiri town as protests turned violent, sparking a desperate search that ended in tragedy
  • The teen’s brutal death has deepened fears about police brutality and the growing list of minors caught in the crossfire of political unrest

Didacus Malowa, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

A sombre mood has engulfed Kathera village in Mbeere South, Embu county, after a family discovered that their missing teenage son had died during the Saba Saba protests.

Benedict Muthomi found dead
Benedict Muthomi's cousin(l) and mum(r) said they positively identified his body in the morgue. Photo: NTV Kenya.
Source: UGC

Benedict Muthomi, a Form Two student, was allegedly beaten to death by police officers as demonstrations rocked Kiritiri town during the demos.

The discovery has left the family shattered, with more questions than answers about how a child who had simply walked out of the house ended up as an unnamed corpse in a mortuary.

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Muthomi had reportedly been sent home from school over unpaid fees and had been at home in the days leading up to the protests.

According to his mother, Milka Micere, the teen left the house quietly on Monday and never returned.

"I was told by those who had seen him that they left him in Kiritiri. The person who told me said they left him when things had already turned bad. That’s when I decided to go to the police, because I hadn’t seen him on Monday or Tuesday." Muthomi's mum narrated.
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How was Muthomi found in mortuary?

As hours turned into days with no word from Muthomi, the family grew increasingly anxious.

They launched a frantic search across the village and later expanded it to nearby health facilities.

"I went to Embu, and that’s where the doctors helped me. I went to the ward, but I didn’t find him," Milka recalled.

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The search ended in the most painful way imaginable, at the mortuary, where they found his body listed under 'unknown'. It was the family who had to identify and provide his name.

"In the end, he was found listed in the mortuary records as 'unknown', because even the name was provided by us," said Boniface Macharia, Muthomi’s cousin.

The news hit the family hard as his uncle, John Ngochi, spoke of the unbearable grief they now live with.

Benedict Muthomi
Benedict Muthomi's cousin, Boniface Macharia, struggles to hold back tears. Photo: NTV Kenya.
Source: UGC

Form 3 student killed in Nanyuki

Muthomi’s death is among a growing list of casualties from the recent Sabasaba protests, where demonstrations turned violent.

His case adds to rising fears about the vulnerability of minors during these crackdowns.

In Nanyuki, Form 3 student James Gachara Wambugu, from Bingwa Secondary School, tragically died from a gunshot wound sustained during the Saba Saba protests in Likii Estate.

He was initially shot in the leg, but his condition worsened before he could receive medical care, and rescuers who rushed him to safety were unable to save him.

Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.

Source: TUKO.co.ke

Authors:
Didacus Malowa avatar

Didacus Malowa (Political and current affairs editor) Didacus Malowa is a political and current affairs editor at TUKO.co.ke. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Communication and Media Technology with IT from Maseno University in 2021. He has over two years of experience in digital journalism. Email: didacus.malowa@tuko.co.ke

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