NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 19 – An autopsy has revealed that renowned author and respected journalist Ken Walibora was stabbed before he was hit by a matatu in Nairobi.
He was then rushed by a good samaritan to Kenyatta National Hospital where he is said to have spent 18 hours at the emergency unit, writhing in pain, before he succumbed. An autopsy shows he died of internal bleeding from the stab wound and other injuries as a result of the accident.
What was initially thought to be a hit and run accident better handled by traffic policemen, is now shaping out as a classic case of murder that can only be handled by homicide detectives at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), who are already seized of the matter.
So who stabbed the prolific writer who will be remembered for his best-seller Siku Njema (Good Day) set book and many others?
That is the main question detectives will be seeking to get answers for, even as others advanced theories that he may have been attacked by muggers out to snatch his phone and other valuables, given the scene of the accident on Landhies Road in downtown Nairobi, that is prone to petty crime.
George Kinoti, who heads the Criminal Investigations department, has told Capital News that “we must thoroughly examine forensically to rule out any post trauma before the accident.”
Another senior detective who spoke to us from the DCI headquarters said that they want to establish who inflicted the injuries on him and at what stage since he had also been knocked down by a matatu.
The driver of the PSV vehicle that knocked him down has since been arrested and questioned over the accident that occurred on April 10, at 9am.
“We have many questions arising from the autopsy report and that what necessitated the need for Homicide unit to take over,” the detective told us.
“All the injuries were on the right side,” said Dr Johansen Odour, the Chief Government Pathologist who performed the autopsy.
Detectives hope to corroborate their findings with CCTV footage manned by police at the scene.
“We hope to get all the CCTV footage, so that we can do a proper analysis,” another officer privy to the ongoing investigations said.
The former Nation Media Group Editor will be laid to rest on Wednesday next week.
A memorial service in his honour was set for Sunday afternoon via Zoom, his close friends said.
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