Tears, questions as Kuria man dies in police custody amid bribery allegations
Western
By
Anne Atieno
| Oct 01, 2025
A family in Kuria West Sub-County is demanding justice after their 40-year-old kin died in a police cell under unclear circumstances.
According to Mary Kimani, the mother of Allan Kamau, his son was arrested for allegedly cutting trees belonging to his aunt.
However, despite his son pleading for forgiveness, the mother claimed she was asked to produce Sh15,000.
Ms. Kimani claimed she was summoned by a police officer at Komomwamo police post, where her son was held.
She claimed the police officer on September 26, 2025, told her they would regret the outcome if they failed to produce the money.
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"I was told that I would cry if I failed to produce the money immediately," the teary mother said.
Her son had been arrested on a Thursday and was to be transferred to Isebania police station for processing before being taken to court on a Friday.
However, according to the man’s family, the transfer was not done.
Kimani had been contacted by an officer from Komomwamo police post on that Friday and upon inquiring, she was told that her son was still in the cell.
“I asked them why they kept him there for all those hours yet it was lawfully wrong to detain someone for more than 24 hours. They told me that I would know that later,” the mother stated.
She disclosed that on the same day, the police called her again and instructed her son to speak with her.
Her son, in a distressed voice, is said to have asked his mother to rescue him.
“At that time, it had rained heavily and I was unable to go out,” Kimani stated.
She narrated that the police contacted her again and told her that she should give them Sh15, 000 failure to which she would cry and not know what to tell her family members.
After 30 minutes, the man’s mother said she was informed that the police officer was looking for her.
“He even came to my shop, took me with a police car and took me to Isebania police station and DCI. It is at that point that they told me that my son had committed suicide,” she said.
She questioned how that could happen since she had talked with her son in less than an hour from the time the news was broken to her.
Kimani said it was after that that the police took a vehicle to the police post to collect her son’s body.
She claimed they never allowed her to see his body.
The man’s mother pleaded with the government to ensure she gets justice for her son.
“It cannot be that young people are arrested and killed in police cells. All we want is justice for my son,” she highlighted.
Godfrey Kamau, an uncle to the deceased, held that their kin could not have taken his own life inside the police cell.
According to Kamau, relevant authorities including the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to intervene and see that the family gets justice.
“He has died inside a cell just like Albert Ojwang’. We want justice and action to be taken against the person who ordered for his arrest,” Mr. Kamau said.
Migori County Criminal Investigation Officer Benard Wamalwa said they have already launched their investigations into the matter and that IPOA has also requested some documents.
The man’s body is currently being preserved at Migori County Referral Hospital’s Morgue.