Sankok son: DCI push for second autopsy as burial postponed

The inconsistencies in witnesses account, a crime scene believed to have been tampered with and several questions arising during the the preliminary ballistic examinations on Nominated MP David Sankok’s guns have prompted investigators to commission a second autopsy on the body of the legislator’s son, Memusi Sankok. 

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has also raised its Homicide unit to take over probe into the death of the 15 year old who died on Monday last week at his father’s home in Ewaso Ng’iro, Narok County. 

Although preliminarily, the Form 3 student at Kericho High School was believed to have died by suicide, sleuths interviewed by Nation.Africa are not leaving anything to chance, including the possibility that another person may have had a hand in the death. 

As a prerequisite, police want to know the whereabouts of the single spent cartridge that would have assisted the police in their ballistics. If detectives had recovered the shell at the scene, they would have determined which gun, out of the multiple that the legislator has, was used to discharge the bullet that killed the juvenile. 

“We feel it is necessary to conduct a second autopsy, done by a government pathologist in the presence of forensic investigators so as to be sure. There are several things we need to be clear on, before we can allow the family to bury their loved one,” Narok County DCI boss Mwenda Ethaiba told the Nation. 

The family had scheduled the burial for Tuesday, 10, May, but they have since postponed it to an indefinite date. 

Memusi’s body was moved to Nakuru, after an autopsy that was conducted at the Longisa Hospital in Bomet County. 

The autopsy had revealed that Memusi died of a single bullet that entered through his chin and exited at the top of his head at their Narok home.

Police have interrogated family members more than 7 times and even conducted a scene re-enactment on Saturday as they await a ballistic report on the two of the MPs guns from Nairobi’s DCI headquarters domiciled at Mazingira House. 

Sources at the DCI headquarters said they were also conducting victimology, to establish the profile of the boy. Some of the things they would want to establish is whether the boy had initially handled a gun, if he fits a ‘suicide profile’, and whether he had short and long term plans. 

Apart from establishing which the legality of the guns, Mr Ethaiba had earlier said that the investigators were also investigating the possibility of the gun having been kept unsafely against the law.

The Firearms Act stipulates that a every registered firearms dealer should maintain a suitable enclosed store for the safe custody of firearms and ammunition in his possession.

“Each store shall be, and be maintained constantly, secure to the satisfaction of the licensing officer, and shall have only one means of entry thereto, which shall be provided with two locks, of which master-keys shall be delivered to, and retained by, the licensing officer,” the law states.

It also states that the licensed owner of a firearm should ensure that the weapon is not lost or stolen and is not at any time available to any person not lawfully entitled to possess it. It states that those who fail to comply with the law shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to a fine not exceeding ten thousand shillings or to both.

"When the gun is not with the licensed holder then it should be under lock and key in the safe. Even if the couple is living in the same bedroom and one of them is licensed the other is prohibited from accessing it,” said Mr Mwenda.

Memusi’s parents have since their son’s death, not issued a statement on the incident.