Family of Briton 'killed by the devil' wants fresh investigations

Lutfunisa Khandwalla

Lutfunisa Khandwalla, 44, died on August 2, 2020, and was buried the same day at the Memon cemetery, Mombasa.

Photo credit: Courtesy

The family of a British national allegedly killed by 'the devil' in Mombasa has called for a re-investigation into her death following the revelations of the Shakahola massacre.

Imran Admani said his sister, Ms Lutfunisa Khandwalla, 44, died in the same way as the Shakahola sect victims.

Mr Admani believes it is time for the police to re-investigate the circumstances surrounding his sister's death, especially since there have been claims that the devil killed her.

"With the revelation of the Shakahola cult deaths, I suggest that the police should expose the unidentified cult leader behind my sister's death," he said.

The woman is said to have met her death in the hands of an unidentified spiritual leader in Mombasa. She visited the country in 2019 but was unable to return to the UK in time due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The 44-year-old died on 2 August 2020 and was buried the same day. A death certificate later showed she died of cardiopulmonary arrest.

However, Mr Admani has insisted that his sister died while being recruited into a cult. He had provided the police with documents suggesting that her sister may have been exposed to extreme religious teachings before her death.

Her family has claimed that she was forced to take drugs while being recruited into the cult by an unidentified spiritual leader.  A medical examination of her remains revealed that the deceased had taken ethambutol, a drug used to treat tuberculosis patients, although she had no history of tuberculosis.

The report by Bio Analytics UK found traces of the drugs in the deceased's brain tissue. The samples were taken to the laboratory last year after Ms Khandwalla's remains were exhumed for toxicology tests to determine what killed her.

Diazepam was also found in the samples analysed.

According to Mr Admani, his sister was forced to take these drugs when she was indoctrinated and recruited into a cult in Mombasa during her short holiday in 2019.

"These findings already point to foul play as my sister did not suffer from TB. I feel this was an attempt to kill her by giving her an overdose," Mr Admani said while reacting to the preliminary report.

In the latest development, where hundreds of people have starved to death in the false hope of meeting Jesus, Mr Admani believes his sister is a victim of a similar cult.

"She was forced to take a chemical used for freezing by a spiritual leader who lied to her that it would cure her ailments, after which she died," he said.

Ms Khandwalla's body was exhumed last year following a court order.

A post-mortem report by government pathologist Johansen Oduor, released to the family last year, did not reveal what might have killed her.

However, preliminary findings indicated that the deceased's brain was found intact two years after her burial.

Further medical tests are being carried out in both Kenya and the UK to establish the cause of her death.