An autopsy conducted at Machakos Funeral Home revealed that Chirchir died from head and back injuries, as well as broken legs
Fresh details have now emerged regarding the last moments of Evans Kiplagat Chirchir, a procurement intern at the National Treasury, before he died on August 31, 2024, and his body was discovered in Machakos Level V Hospital mortuary on Wednesday.
According to police, the deceased on the night of August 30 received a call from one of his neighbours, Bosco Omondi, at around 9 pm, afterwhich he would immediately leave to go meet him, but allegedly left his phone behind.
The deceased would however not return that night, a matter which prompted his brother residing in Athi River, Machakos County, to call Omondi the following day to inquire about his whereabouts.
Omondi on his part informed the deceased’s brother that he had parted ways with Chirchir after sharing a meal with him at Kyumbi Junction after leaving Makueni County.
Entrance to the National Treasury. /NATIONAL TREASURY AND ECONOMIC PLANNING
Police sources had indicated that Chirchir was then run over by a black Toyota Harrier, which was identified from debris and glass fragments of its side mirror found at the accident scene.
Chirchir’s body was later taken to the Machakos Level 5 Hospital morgue, where it was initially booked as unknown by attendants before it was eventually discovered.
Dr Daniel Katua, the medical superintendent at Machakos Level Five Hospital, had earlier told journalists that the deceased was brought to the facility on August 31, 2024, at 9:20 p.m., adding that officers from Kyumbi Police Station positively identified the body based on information from the mortuary’s attendants.
The Officer Commanding Station (OCS) at the station subsequently confirmed the arrest of the driver implicated in the accident. However, he was subsequently freed on a Ksh50,000 bond. His vehicle was also processed and released after a National Transportation and Safety Authority (NTSA) inspection report.
He is scheduled to appear in court in two weeks where he will be charged with dangerous driving, causing death, and failing to report an accident.
Meanwhile, an autopsy conducted at Machakos Funeral Home revealed that Chirchir died from head and back injuries, as well as broken legs, allegedly sustained in the hit-and-run accident at the Maanzoni area on the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway.
Chirchir’s family had previously claimed that the deceased was working on a Ksh286 million tender at the Treasury during the period that he disappeared and had expressed fears for his life on the same.
“The manner in which he was killed by the criminals is questionable and raises eyebrows. It cannot be a coincidence that it is not related to tender and work issues,” the family lawyer Felix Kaeto stated, adding “The issues of tender can be related to the death and as such, we do not want to speculate on the circumstances but to demand justice.”
According to the lawyers, Chirchir had faced the life threats which raised questions as to whether the death could be linked to issues surrounding tendering processes.
However, Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo dismissed the claims, clarifying that the late Chirchir was an intern deployed to the National Treasury under the Public Service Internship Program (PSIP), Cohort 6, starting on February 1, 2024.
He was assigned to the procurement section but, as an intern, he was not actively involved in any tendering or procurement decision-making processes.
The lawyers also mentioned that a section of friends wanted to meet the deceased in Machakos, and are expected to be persons of interest in the ongoing investigations.
