REPORTED SUICIDE

Man’s body found dangling from house roof in Machakos

Police say it's only a postmortem that will reveal the cause of death.

In Summary
  • Machakos sub-county police commander Emmanuel Okanda said the deceased was reported to have died by suicide.
  • Okanda, however, noted that it was not until an autopsy was conducted on the body that the cause of his death would be unearthed.
Police officers remove John Musyoki Keti’s body from the scene of incident within the parent’s homestead in Katelembo in Machakos County on November 16, 2023.
Police officers remove John Musyoki Keti’s body from the scene of incident within the parent’s homestead in Katelembo in Machakos County on November 16, 2023.
Image: GEORGE OWITI

Police in Machakos are investigating an incident where a man’s body was found dangling from a roof's rafter at his parents’ home in Katelembo on Thursday.

Officers from Machakos police station collected John Musyoki Keti’s body from the scene of the incident within the parent’s homestead in Katelembo sub-location, Machakos County at around 10.30 am Thursday.

Machakos sub-county police commander Emmanuel Okanda said the deceased was reported to have died by suicide.

Okanda, however, noted that it was not until an autopsy was conducted on the body that the cause of his death would be unearthed.

“The incident was reported as suicide. We can’t, however, confirm so until a postmortem is done on the body,” Okanda told the Star by phone hours after the body was collected.

The deceased is said to have been in his early 40s.

“The body was found hanging by the neck from his house roof's rafters in their home,” Okanda said.

Crime detectives from Machakos processed the scene before the body was removed to Machakos Funeral Home within Machakos Township. 

The incident happened a day after two school-going children drowned in a private dam within the same sub-county on Tuesday.

The duo are said to be among four secondary school boys who were on a swimming expedition at the dam located in the Weuni area in Vota village, Mikuyu sub-location.

They died after drowning in the 6.00 pm Tuesday incident.

The bodies were retrieved with the efforts of local divers, Kenya Red Cross personnel, police and members of the public at around 9.00 am on Wednesday.

Their attempts to retrieve the bodies on Tuesday evening had borne no fruits forcing them to suspend the operations due to darkness.

Machakos County Government’s emergency response team also joined in the rescue mission.

They together with the Kenya Red Cross personnel helped in retrieving the bodies.

Officers from Vota police station removed the bodies to Machakos Level 5 hospital mortuary awaiting an autopsy.

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