'Alcohol played part in man's fall to death in Murang'a church'

A welder who fell to his death from the rooftop of an African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa house of worship in Kenol, Murang'a County on Monday had taken alcohol at a nearby bar.

The intoxicating spirit appeared to have worked against him as he laboured on the rooftop of the church. He slipped and hit the concrete floor of the pulpit and died instantly.

Murang'a South police boss Alexander Shikondi said Njoroge Muikamba, 28, died by accident.

Mr Josephat Mwangi, who owns a welding workshop called God's Favour in Kenol, told Nation.Africa that the worker, who hailed from nearby Gitura village, loved alcohol "and I had warned him several times to go easy on it, especially when working in heights".

He said he was keeping a close eye on the man because

"I knew him too well. And I was afraid that the rooftop of the church that is 35 feet high was dangerous for an alcoholic".

Mr Mwangi added: "But I left the site for a brief errand and I was made to understand by another worker that the deceased man had sneaked from the site for about 10 minutes and he had reported back looking tipsy."

He said a further probe revealed that the worker had been sold the 'spirit' at a nearby bar, gulped it down in a hurry and rushed back to work.

"Reports from my workers indicate that he appeared tipsy when he got back and the intoxicating effect possibly hit him at his high perch, made him dizzy and led to the slipup that killed him," Mr Mwangi said.

He said the death of the unmarried man was a big loss.

"At around noon, I received information that he had slipped and fallen to his death. It is a sorry incident and my devastated heart only seeks God's fortitude for all affected to bear the loss," he said.

He added that he had prevailed upon the man’s relatives to agree to a toxicology test on the body to ascertain whether he was intoxicated at the time of his death.

"You know how society reasons. The death inside a church can be attributed to many beliefs. I can also be said to have sacrificed him ... those are realities of the society,” he said. 

“There is a sound reason why all involved would love that this death be profiled and officially recorded in its most accurate nature," he added.

Mr James Mwaura, who worked with the deceased man to fix the ceiling metal bars of the church, said he had warned him about sneaking from work.

"But he left ... there was nothing I could do. He came back and I silently knew where he was coming from,” he said. 

“Then he joined me at the rooftop. He was not even two minutes up there when he went back to the ground in a fall. I witnessed the fall in a very terrified way."

He added: "He slipped and I watched him go down ... He briefly screamed as he attempted to hold on to the air. There was no way I could have helped him. 

“I only screamed back and closed my eyes as I saw him approach the concrete floor head first. I heard the thud and I uttered a prayer to Almighty God to have mercy." 

He said he slowly opened his eyes, threw a glance down and saw the still body with blood gushing from his head.

Mr Shikondi said scene-of-crime experts from the Murang'a South Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) office ‘visited, profiled and processed the incident’.

"The body was later removed to General Kago mortuary in Thika, Kiambu County, and a postmortem will be conducted ... [The] preliminary investigation report pins the death to an accident," he said.

Relatives and friends caused a stir at the scene by wailing uncontrollably as the body was removed.

The church hit the headlines on October 4, 2020 when Deputy President William Ruto visited for a fundraiser as chief guest, with security agents ordered to prevent the event from happening. 

In street confrontations between one side supporting President Uhuru Kenyatta and the other backing Dr Ruto, two youths were lynched.

Police used teargas in the church to try to disperse the gathering but everyone in it stayed put and the officers retreated. Area Police Commander Antony Keter was subsequently transferred.

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