Autopsy reveals what killed Nakuru policeman David Kurgat

An autopsy on the remains of police constable David Kurgat, who collapsed and died minutes after visiting his girlfriend Lucy Chepkorir, on Wednesday ruled out the possibility that he may have been poisoned.

According to results of a post-mortem results conducted by government pathologist Dr George Biketi at Olengurone Sub-County mortuary, Nakuru County, Mr Kurgat died of a heart attack.

“As a result of my examination, I formed the opinion that the cause of death was acute myocardial infarction from a pre-existing heart condition,” stated Dr Biketi in his report.

“He suffered massive cardiomegaly, a condition where the walls of the left and/or right ventricles of the heart become thin and stretched. The result is an enlarged heart that can't pump blood as efficiently as one that's not enlarged. This led to heart failure,” he explained.

The autopsy was conducted in the presence of Mr Kurgat's family and Ms Chepkorir.

The body of Mr Kurgat, 50, was found 10 metres away from Ms Chepkorir’s rental house.

He was an officer attached to Kiptagich Police Station in Kuresoi South.

Prior to his death, the officer had spent time with his 20-year-old lover. They enjoyed a cup of tea prepared by Ms Chepkorir before he left the house.

Soon after, he collapsed and died a few metres away from the house.

The autopsy brings to an end five days of speculation over the cause of death.

On Monday, the family of PC Kurgat had demanded investigations to unravel the circumstances surrounding his mysterious demise.

His wife, Ms Sophie Kurgat, recounted her last moments with her husband, as she demanded for thorough investigations into the incident.

She said her husband last visited the family at their home in Njoro about three days before he died.

"Kurgat visited us in Njoro on Tuesday (last week) and had a chat with the children, encouraging them to work hard and focus on their studies. He was fine and did not tell me that he was sick," she narrated while sobbing uncontrollably.

“My husband has never been sick. He was okay the last time he came home. He never told us that he was sick or if anything was bothering him. I was shocked when I received the news,"said Ms Kurgat after viewing the body at the Olenguruone Sub- County mortuary.

Kuresoi South sub-county police commander Henry Nyaranga said they were only alerted by the public that their colleague had died. 

“He was fine on Friday as he had driven me to-and-from Nakuru, where I was attending to official duties. He did not appear bothered by anything. He was jovial throughout,” he said.

Court

On Monday, Ms Chekorir was arraigned before a Molo magistrate court but did not take plea.

The court gave police seven days to hold the woman to enable them complete investigations.

Police had filed a miscellaneous application seeking more time to conduct a probe, a request that was granted by Resident Magistrate Rhoda Yator.

In the application, the investigative officer said the police need more time to conduct a post-mortem to ascertain if he died from food poisoning before charges could be preferred against her.

She was being held at Keringet Police station.

The family, through his brother, said they were satisfied with the autopsy's findings and will start burial preparations immediately.

“At least our hearts are at peace. We now know what killed our brother and we are satisfied. We will bury our brother next week on Friday, August 6,” said a family member.