Evans Chirchir, a Treasury employee, had expressed concerns about his safety related to a Sh286 million tender.
An intern at the Treasury, whose body was found at a Machakos morgue at the weekend, had received a call on Friday from a friend who had asked that they travel to Makueni to party.
On Thursday, a postmortem examination on the body of Mr Evans Chirchir, who had been missing until his family was notified his body had been found in the morgue on Tuesday, revealed that he had head and limb injuries.
Mr Chirchir had been missing until the afternoon of Tuesday, September 3, when family lawyers, Philip Keaton and Felix Langat, informed the High Court at Milimani, where an application on his disappearance was to be heard, that they had been notified his body had been found at Machakos Level 5 Hospital.
The postmortem examination on Thursday was conducted by Dr Kamotho Waithera and witnessed by representatives of the family.
Family and police sources told the Nation that the 34-year-old was called on Friday afternoon by his friend identified as Bosco Omondi. The two were to travel to Machakos to enjoy a drink.
After the telephone conversation, Mr Chirchir left home in Kinoo, Kikuyu Sub-County, but he did not carry his mobile phone.
It’s not clear whether he deliberately left it behind or forgot it.
When the Nation contacted Mr Omondi on phone, he did not answer calls or reply to text messages. It’s not clear at what point and under what circumstances he died.
According to police, Mr Chirchir was knocked down by a black Toyota Harrier registration number (withheld for legal reasons). When his body was taken to the morgue, it was registered as an unidentified person.
The vehicle has been at the Kyumbi Police Station, but was released on Thursday afternoon and the driver (name withheld for legal reasons) is out on cash bail.
“Investigations into the matter are still ongoing,” Machakos County Commander Officer Patrick Lobolia said.
After the postmortem, which was conducted at the Machakos Funeral Home, the family declined to address the media.
Dr Chris Kiptoo, the Treasury Principal Secretary (PS), said Chirchir was not actively involved in any tendering or procurement decision-making process.
He was responding to reports from Chirchir's family that their kin had expressed fears for his life over a Sh286 million tender.
The PS explained that Chirchir was an intern deployed to the National Treasury under the Public Service Internship Program, Cohort 6, and had started duty on February 1.
“He was assigned to the procurement section, but as an intern, he was not actively involved in any tendering or procurement decision-making processes,” Dr Kiptoo added in a statement on Thursday.
“We have observed with concern the spread of inaccurate and misleading information on social media and press regarding Mr Chirchir’s connection to the National Treasury,” Dr Kiptoo said.
The PS further said that Chirchir was not on any official duty when he disappeared on Saturday, August 31 in the Kyumvi area, Machakos Junction. Dr Kiptoo said Chirchir was “returning from a private function in Makueni.”
“Since it was a weekend, Mr Chirchir was not on official duty at the time of the incident,” he added. Treasury was informed of his disappearance and subsequent death on Monday, September 2, after his body was found at Machakos Level 5 hospital.
“At this difficult time, we offer our deepest sympathies to his family and loved ones. We urge the public to refrain from circulating unverified and speculative information that could cause further distress to the family and harm the reputation of the National Treasury,” he said.
On Tuesday, September 3, the family of the Treasury employee through lawyers Philip Keaton and Felix Langat claimed their kin had expressed fear for his life while handling a Sh286 million tender.
Mr Leonard Chirchir, the brother of the deceased, embarked on a mission to look for him in various places including police stations and morgues in Nairobi and Machakos.
The family instructed the lawyers to file an urgent application against the police. The two lawyers sued the Inspector General of Police and the DCI seeking orders to produce Evans in court if he was in their custody.
“Before we were heard by the High Court ON September 3, 2024, we received information that the body of Chirchir has been discovered at the Machakos mortuary Level Five Hospital,” Mr Keaton told journalists at the Milimani High Court.
While withdrawing the application to compel police to produce the deceased, Keaton told Justice Lawrence Mugambi that the circumstances had changed and the case had taken a dramatic turn.
“We will now pursue another cause to get justice for the deceased,” he said.
Mr Keaton appealed to the DCI and IG to conduct investigations to determine the cause of death. For two days the Nation has been contacting Mr Keaton but he was not responding to our inquiries on the matter.
Machakos County Police Commander Patrick Lobolia said that the matter was still under investigation.
“The matter is under investigation so far we treating it as an accident,” Mr Lobolia said.
