Nakuru doctor James Gakara's post-mortem delayed
Nakuru doctor James Gakara's family and friends at the Nakuru Level 5 Hospital on September 22, 2021.
The post-mortem on the body of Nakuru doctor James Gakara, alleged to have killed his two children before attempting suicide, did not take place as scheduled on Thursday morning.
Dr Gakara died Wednesday morning at Nakuru Level Five Hospital's Intensive Care Unit under the watch of police officers.
The doctor’s family and friends were still at the commissioner of oath’s office to swear an affidavit to confirm his identity as he was admitted as an “unknown male adult”.
According to their spokesperson, Burton Njoroge, the facility requested them to produce documents from the lawyer to verify the identity.
Mr Njoroge told the Nation that the hospital needed a sworn affidavit before giving a go-ahead for the process to commence.
“We came here in the morning expecting the post-mortem to be conducted but were sent away and asked to bring the documents. We were sent to court but luckily, we finished the process swiftly," said Mr Njoroge.
"We are just waiting for the relevant office to change the hospital file from that of an unknown person to a known person for the process to start.”
Pathologist unavailable
After waiting more than seven hours, however, the family was forced to postpone the post-mortem for the second time.
Despite making several trips for the better part of Thursday, to legal offices, court premises and the hospital in a bid to acquire relevant documents, they were told the government pathologist was unavailable.
Mr Njoroge said they were told at about 4pm that the pathologist who was to carry out the exam had already left.
“We were told to produce a sworn affidavit from a lawyer before being given a go-ahead for the process to commence. We tried all we could and acquired the relevant documents but were informed that the doctor had left,” he said.
He said they were forced to reschedule the autopsy to Friday, their hope being that it won’t be delayed again.
“The affidavit is ready and the names in the hospital files have been changed from unknown to known. Everything is set so we hope it will be conducted tomorrow so we can start burial arrangements,” he said.
Also read: Murder probe: Family of Nakuru doctor James Gakara alleges foul play
Widow recovering
Mr Njoroge further said that Gakara’s widow, Winnie Odhiambo, was doing well following her admission to a high dependency unit moments after her husband’s death.
“The doctor’s wife is okay. She is stable but is yet to come to terms with the demise of her children and husband," he said.
Gakara was found unconscious on his bed at his Milimani Apartments home on Saturday night.
He was quickly hospitalised and had been battling for his life for four days when he died.
The bodies of his son Dylan and daughter Karuana, aged three and five respectively, were found in a different room in the same house.
They were first taken to the Nakuru Municipal Morgue and transferred to PNN mortuary on Monday morning by the family.
At the house, police found assorted drugs the doctor is suspected to have injected his children and himself.
A post-mortem on the bodies of the two minors was conducted on Sunday, with detectives collecting samples for further analysis.
The children will be buried next Tuesday at their Mbaruuk home in Gilgil Sub-county following a requiem mass at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Milimani on Monday.
Support for children
Meanwhile, residents of Milimani Apartments are organising for psycho-social support for the children there to help them with their deaths of their friends.
Professor Nzula Kita, a resident and a lecturer at Egerton University, noted that the impact of the unusual circumstances on the children must also be considered.
Prof Kita said the children have been greatly affected, considering the wide media coverage of the incident.
“This is the major reason why they require a session with an expert – to enable them ask questions about what might be bothering them and come to terms with the unfortunate incident,” she said.
As investigations continue, residents have searched for reasons to explain the incident, such as effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant economic hardships.
