Ex-Matungu MP's family reads foul play in son's murder

The family of the late Hanington Were, the 39-year-old son of former Matungu MP David Were, has alleged foul play in the murder of the son.

This came as a post-mortem examination on Tuesday revealed that he died from multiple stab wounds, contradicting earlier claims that he had been struck on the head with a blunt object.

Hanington, an employee of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) based at the Huduma Centre in Kisumu, was attacked and killed on Sunday night by unknown assailants.

The latest developments have now shifted the direction of investigations, with the family raising questions over the account given by the man who was reportedly with the deceased during his final moments.

Speaking after the post-mortem examination at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) morgue, former Matungu MP David Were said the autopsy findings painted a different picture from what the family had initially been told.

“My son was killed on Sunday, May 24. The post-mortem has been carried out, and doctors have now told us the actual cause of his death,” said Were.

“Initially, we had been informed that he was hit on the back of the head with a blunt object and collapsed, but the autopsy shows that he sustained three major stab wounds, and those are the injuries that caused his death because he bled profusely internally.”

According to the former MP, pathologists established that one stab wound penetrated through the back into the lungs, while another pierced the kidneys after injuring the lower part of the lungs, leading to severe internal bleeding.

“We were informed that one stab entered through the back and pierced the lungs, causing heavy bleeding. Another one injured both the lungs and the kidneys. The internal injuries were very severe, and that is what caused his death,” he said.

Were added that the pathologist indicated the attack appeared deliberate and executed with the intention to kill.

“The doctors told us whoever did this intended to kill him. From their professional assessment, the injuries were too severe, and even if he had been rushed to the hospital immediately, chances of survival would have been minimal,” he stated.

The former legislator said detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) had intensified investigations and were comparing witness statements with the findings from the autopsy.

“They have already taken statements from several people, and now they are comparing those statements with the post-mortem findings so that they can establish exactly what happened,” he said.

However, Were questioned several inconsistencies surrounding the events leading to his son’s death, especially the timeline given by the man who was allegedly with Hanington on the night he was attacked.

According to the family, Hanington had left his house in Mountain View Estate together with a friend to buy food and drinks at nearby Mamba Trading Centre before the attack occurred near Makini International School.

The witness reportedly claimed the deceased was attacked around midnight, but was only taken to JOOTRH at around 3 am.

“We are trying to understand what happened during that three-hour gap because whoever was with him says the injuries happened around midnight, yet he was brought to the hospital at around 3 am,” said Were.

The former MP further stated that the witness claimed boda boda riders attacked Hanington using a blunt object, but both doctors and the pathologist confirmed there were no injuries to the head.

“The person who was with him claimed he had been hit on the head by boda boda riders using a blunt object, but the post-mortem report clearly shows there was no injury on the head at all,” he said.

“When I spoke to the doctor who first received him at the emergency unit, he told me my son had already died by the time he arrived at the hospital, and what they noticed were stab wounds on the back. Even the pathologist confirmed there was no head injury. It is the stab wounds that killed him.”

Were also disclosed that the man who was with his son was not an NSSF colleague but a friend who operates a cyber café at the Huduma Centre in Kisumu.

According to him, the man was interrogated by detectives alongside another individual before being released.

“He first recorded a statement, then he was picked up again together with another friend and interrogated for several hours. I am told he was detained for about 12 hours before he was released,” said Were.

Hanington’s widow, Faniet Magalu, also expressed suspicion over the conduct of the man who accompanied her husband on the night he died.

“As Baba has said, the report shows the person who was with him lied in his statement. He claimed that boda boda riders hit my husband with a blunt object, but there was nothing like that. The major cause of death was the stab wounds,” she said.

Faniet described the man’s actions after the incident as suspicious, claiming he changed into her husband’s T-shirt before informing her that Hanington had been taken to the hospital.

“I suspected him from the word go because he behaved suspiciously. He changed into my husband’s T-shirt before waking me up and telling me we needed to go to the hospital,” she said.

The murder has left the family devastated, coming barely months after they buried another son who was allegedly killed in Nairobi under unclear circumstances.

Were has now called on the DCI to speed up investigations and ensure those behind his son’s murder are brought to justice.