Moi varsity student’s friends go into hiding as postmortem results are released

By , K24 Digital
On Tue, 17 Dec, 2019 18:13 | 2 mins read
The autopsy outcome reveals that Moi University student, Japheth Mungai, who died aged 23, did not have any physical injuries to suggest that someone else killed him. [PHOTO | K24 DIGITAL]
The autopsy outcome reveals that Moi University student, Japheth Mungai, who died aged 23, did not have any physical injuries to suggest that someone else killed him. [PHOTO | K24 DIGITAL]
The autopsy outcome reveals that Moi University student, Japheth Mungai, who died aged 23, did not have any physical injuries to suggest that someone else killed him. [PHOTO | K24 DIGITAL]

A Second-Year Moi University student whose body was found hanging from a rope tied to the rafters of his classroom on Saturday, December 14, succumbed to asphyxia, a postmortem examination report released on Tuesday, December 17, indicates.

Asphyxia, simply known as suffocation, is a condition arising when the body is deprived of oxygen; and it can cause unconsciousness or death.

The autopsy outcome reveals that Japheth Mungai, who died aged 23, did not have any physical injuries to suggest that someone else killed him. However, the report shows that Mungai’s lungs were hyper-inflated, and that the suffocation could have contributed to that.

Mungai’s family still believes that someone else could have planned their son’s death, saying “doctors at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, where our son was preserved, told us that it is impossible that Mungai killed himself, given his hands were tied, when his body was discovered”.

More samples extracted from Mungai’s body were taken for advanced examination, K24 Digital was told.

Police, led by Uasin Gishu County Police commander Johnstone Ipara, said they haven’t ruled out the possibility that Mungai was murdered.

Ipara told K24 Digital that they are currently on the trail of Mungai’s friends who were last seen with him before his death.

“A number of persons of interest have thus far recorded statements in connection with Mungai’s death. We are still looking for his friends, who are at large,” said Ipara.

Mungai’s parents are now planning to transport his body to Nyahururu for burial.

On Monday, the deceased’s parents denied claims that were doing the rounds on social media that their son committed suicide.

Speaking at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) mortuary, Mungai’s parents insisted that their son was brutally murdered and the killers tried to make it look like suicide.

Mungai’s body was found hanging on a rope in one of the classrooms at the Moi University Main Campus in Eldoret. His hands were tied up.

According to Mungai’s father, Charles Kinyanjui, his son was at home in Nyahururu for the long holiday and had told him of his intention to travel to Moi University to collect his belongings.

Mungai’s parents were opposed to his travel idea but the 23-year-old left home on Tuesday morning without informing them.

“No parent would stand seeing photos of his child’s body hanging lifeless on a rope. This is pure foul play and we want the police to bring to book those who killed my son. He did not deserve to die like that in his own school,” said Kinyanjui.

Mungai’s mother, Monica Mungai, said her son’s phone went off the very day he travelled from his home and efforts to reach him were futile until Saturday morning when a friend called his elder brother after news of his death went viral on social media.

“We were contemplating to report to police after we failed to reach him for three consecutive days on phone before his friend called my first-born son with the sad news on Saturday morning. Basically, as a family, we got the information from friends who had seen it on social media. The institution we chose for our son is yet to make any official communication despite having our contact information,” she said.

Cases of insecurity at the Moi University Main Campus have become a big concern for students with Mungai’s death coming on the heels of another murder incident last month in which a fourth-year student was found dead in one of the hostels.