A family in Meru County is at the centre of a police investigation following the suspected murder of a 78-year-old man by his son and an attempted cover-up.
According to a police report from Tigania Police Station, the case was initially reported on June 9, 2025, by the deceased’s wife and their son.
The two claimed that the man had died at home after a prolonged illness and had been on medication.
However, on the evening of June 17 at around 7:30pm, the area assistant and a neighbour brought new information to police suggesting the elderly man may have been murdered.
“Further information was received from the area assistant chief and a neighbour to the deceased that there is credible information that the deceased may have been killed by his close family members,” police said.
Police said it was specifically alleged that the son struck his father with a piece of timber on the forehead, leading to his death.
Authorities were also informed that the family had tried to bury the deceased quickly and quietly, without informing other relatives.
“The family members that included the widow, the son and another individual claiming to be a doctor, neighbour and a friend to the bereaved family had requested to be allowed to bury the deceased without conducting a postmortem,” the authorities said.
However, when the request was declined, they claimed to have a doctor at a nearby hospital waiting to conduct the postmortem.
It was said that the former man doctor had reportedly conducted a postmortem and concluded that the cause of death was hypertension.
However, police flagged the doctor's findings as suspicious, citing his ties to the bereaved family and his conduct before and after the examination.
“Considering his conflict of interest and behaviour, his postmortem conclusion cannot be taken at face value,” police said.
Police now plan to conduct a second, independent postmortem through a government pathologist.
“Consequently, the investigation intends to request a second opinion postmortem by an independent government pathologist,” police stated.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Tigania West Sub-County is leading the inquiry, which remains open and pending further investigation.
In a separate incident in Vihiga County, another elderly man died following an alleged assault by neighbours.
The man, aged 80, was reportedly attacked on the morning of June 14, 2025, after picking a wooden post from a shared boundary.
Police said his son reported the case two days later.
Police from Emusire Station visited the scene and confirmed the account.
The deceased’s body was taken to Puche Mortuary pending postmortem. Emuhaya Sub-County officers are handling the investigation.
