A Kiambu Court has allowed police to detain a couple for 14 days on suspicion that they murdered their one month old son in Kawaida location of Kiambaa Sub-county of Kiambu County last week.
The duo allegedly reported that their child had developed breathing problems and thereafter succumbed to coronavirus, which was refuted by health response experts who were called to the scene after the death.
The Kiambu Senior Resident Magistrate, Ms. Grace Omodho allowed police officers to detain Stephen Safari Wambua and Salome Amuloka Opiyo at Karuri police station in Kiambaa to allow them to complete investigations.
The investigating officer PC Lawrence Owino told the court Tuesday that he intended to hold the suspects so that he could complete investigating the case reported at Kawaida police post by the first respondent as a natural death.
According to the investigating officer, the deceased namely Boniface Kioko Safari who is their child developed breathing difficulties on the May 7, 2020 and died the same day in their rented house in Kawaida Kiwanja area within Kiambaa sub-county.
He explained to court that a case of Covid-19 was suspected and that the Kiambaa sub-county Rapid Response team was dispatched to the scene and upon examination of the body ruled out the virus as the cause of his death.
The doctors also observed bruises on the right lateral neck area raising suspicion as to the cause of the death. The police officers also visited the scene and made the same observation. They therefore launched investigations into the death, thus arresting the couple since they were the custodians of the deceased.
The officer said that post mortem was yet to be conducted to establish the actual cause of death for the minor, hence the need to continue interrogating them at the Karuri police station.
Ms. Omodho fixed the mention of the case for May 25, 2020.
By Lydia Shiloya
