Police in Embu on Wednesday averted a potentially volatile situation after a large group of bodaboda riders stormed Embu County Level V Hospital, demanding the release of a colleague’s body before a mandatory postmortem examination could be conducted.
The hospital administrator alerted authorities at about 5.35 pm after dozens of riders entered the hospital compound and converged at the mortuary, seeking to take the body of 23-year-old Peter Mburia Maina.
Mortuary attendants reportedly hid inside the facility and called for help.
Police officers who responded to the scene found the riders gathered around the mortuary with their motorcycles.
Investigations revealed that Maina was involved in a road accident on the evening of June 9 along the Embu-Kiritiri Road near a Rubis petrol station.
Police said he was allegedly hit by an unidentified motorcycle rider who fled the scene. Good Samaritans rushed him to Embu County Level V Hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
According to police, the deceased’s family had earlier visited the station and were advised that a postmortem examination was necessary before the body could be released.
However, bodaboda riders reportedly intervened and demanded that the procedure be abandoned, insisting on taking the body immediately.
Police officers managed to calm the situation after engaging the family and the riders and explaining the legal requirements surrounding investigations into sudden deaths.
To avert further tension, hospital management organised a postmortem examination, which was conducted in the presence of family members and police officers.
The body was subsequently released to the family.
Following the exercise, hundreds of bodaboda riders escorted the body in a motorcycle convoy through Embu town before proceeding to Gakwegori Funeral Home, where it was preserved pending burial arrangements.
Police confirmed that no injuries or damage were reported during the incident and that the situation was brought under control peacefully.
