Nairobi County Assembly Pathologist David Atandi, Lawyer Biko Ashioya, addressing the media in the company of County speaker Kennedy Okeyo Ng'ondi and MCAs on Saturday, April 26, 2025. [PHOTO: HANDOUT]
The Nairobi County Assembly now says the death of Kariobangi North MCA Joel Munuve could have been avoided if a longstanding blood clot in his leg had been detected earlier
According to the County Assembly pathologist, David Atandi
and lawyer Biko Ashioya, Munuve had lived with the blood clot for some time.
“The clot had been
there for a long time. It travelled from his leg to his heart. This is something
that could have been stopped,” Ashioya said.
A post-mortem conducted by independent and government
pathologists found that Munuve died from a massive pulmonary embolism — a large
blood clot blocking the main artery of the lung.
Pathologists believe that a significant blood clot in the back of
Munuve’s leg developed over time and eventually caused the fatal blockage.
“We concluded that the cause of death was a large clot in
the pulmonary trunk,” Dr. Atandi said.
“His external physique appeared normal, but upon opening the
body, we discovered his left lung had become non-functional and a major blood
vessel to the heart was completely blocked.”
The two spoke in a joint press conference attended by County
speaker Kennedy Okeyo Ng'ondi and MCAs, among other officials, on Saturday.
The pathologists also found that his heart was
mildly enlarged.
“The County Assembly tasked us with conducting a comprehensive investigation, and the findings are clear. The clot had been present for some time before it fatally travelled to his heart,” one of the medical experts said.
Chief Government Pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor on Friday confirmed
Muneve died due to a blood clot in his lungs.
The clot, which began in a vein in his left leg, travelled to
the lungs and blocked a key artery, he said.
The postmortem showed that he lacked enough oxygen in his
body at the time of his death.
“When we looked at the body of the late MCA, from external
examination, we saw that he had cyanosis (darkening of lips and fingernails).
This is seen in people who are not getting enough oxygen in the body,” he said.
“There is a blood vessel called the pulmonary artery where
blood passes from the heart to the lungs to get oxygen. We saw a big blood clot
there, which was tightly adherent to the blood vessel. This is what is called
pulmonary embolism, which can cause sudden death.”
