Kate Mitchell murder: Tamati Mauti's father wants thorough probe

 The family of the man who allegedly killed a BBC employee at a Nairobi hotel last week had never heard of the British national.

The family also says that a post-mortem on the body of Tamati Mauti was done last Saturday, but they have not been given any report.

Mr Dan Mauti, the father, told the Nation yesterday that the police are yet to give the family any updates regarding the death of their son and they are frustrated by being kept in the dark.

“I am in total darkness regarding what happened to my son. The police keep telling us they are investigating the matter and have not briefed anything. The management of the hotel where I hear my son died has also not told us anything,” the grieving father said.

He is troubled by the narrative that his son could have been involved with the BBC Project manager, Kate Mitchell, since the only woman they knew their son was involved with was Michelle Akinyi, a journalist at NRG Radio, whose phone has been confiscated by the police.

Mr Mauti learnt of his son’s death through his wife, who was called by someone pretending to be a lawyer, and asked her to rush to Kilimani police station last Friday.

From the station, the family rushed to Chiromo mortuary where they had been informed that their son’s body had been taken, only to be redirected to the City Mortuary.

“The level of confusion is beyond understanding. We left Chiromo and rushed to City Mortuary and found him there. We know that a post-mortem was conducted on Saturday, but we have not been given any report,” the 67-year-old father said.

Mr Mauti travelled to Nairobi from Kisii following the report of his son’s death.

The family transferred Mauti’s body to Montezuma Funeral Home on Saturday.

Currently staying at the family home in Ongata Rongai, the father wonders how his son, whom he described as very promising, is now being called a murderer.

“My son was a very staunch Christian. Even now at home, church members have come to condole with us. He was very committed to the church. It is sad that the only people who have the answers are dead and cannot defend themselves,” he said.

Asked about whether he knew of Ms Mitchell, who was found dead at the hotel, and whether his son had ever mentioned her, Mr Mauti said he had never heard of her and only knew of her from media reports after the deaths.

“My son actually has a lady whom we all know as Michelle Akinyi and we know of the plans for their wedding which was to happen soon,” he said.

To prove that his son was committed to Ms Akinyi, Mr Mauti revealed that the last time they spoke was three weeks ago when his son asked him if he had spoken with his fiancée’s father regarding their wedding plans.

“We are very surprised by all these details about my son, about the British national, and are frustrated by the police’s denial to keep us informed. I call on the police to do us a good favour and just inform us on what is going on,” he said.

The last information he got from the law-enforcement officers was when he went to Kilimani police station last weekend and was told to first bury his son as the police continue with the investigations.

Ms Akinyi, the Nation has learnt, is currently living with her aunt in Ongata Rongai and is “very traumatised” by all that is happening.

Attempts by the Nation to reach her by phone were futile, with numerous calls made to her phone went unanswered with her father-in-law saying that has been the case since Friday morning, when the police allegedly took her phone.

“The police took her phone and have not returned it to her. They must be charging it to keep it active throughout,” he said.

When asked whether the police had taken Ms Akinyi’s phone and why they did so, Kilimani Sub County Police Commander, Muturi Mbogo, neither denied nor confirmed it but instead referred the Nation to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

“The case is currently being handled by the DCI who have all the details. The detectives are doing the investigations,” he said.

For now, the family is planning the burial, with the date set for December 1 at Ongata Rongai.

They have urged the police to speed up the investigations and unravel the truth surrounding the murders of their son and the British national.

“We are traumatised, our family has been tarnished. We cannot eat. We are receiving numerous calls from everywhere, from friends who want to know what exactly happened. We want the police to update us, why would we be informed by the press regarding our son?” Mr Mauti concluded.

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