The country has been left in disbelief following the confirmed strangulation of nurse and Toto Touch founder, Susan Njoki, at Chiromo Hospital Group’s Braeside branch.
An autopsy conducted by six pathologists revealed that Njoki was manually strangled roughly four hours after her final meal on Tuesday last week, a day after she was admitted to the facility without her consent.
Detectives from Kabete Police Station are currently investigating the incident.
Njoki, who had a history of mental health treatment, had earlier claimed on social media that her husband, Alloise Ngure, had sent four doctors to forcibly inject her and admit her into a mental facility against her will. She was reportedly picked from her Kileleshwa residence by four individuals.
The postmortem was carried out at Montezuma Monalisa Funeral Home by doctors representing the family, the government, and the hospital. Detectives were also present during the procedure, which took more than four hours.
“Susan died because of what we call manual strangulation. If I put it in normal language, it means kunyongwa kwa shingo (strangulation of the neck)…” stated family pathologist Dr P.M. Maturi.
Dr J.N. Ndungu, a government pathologist, confirmed, “There are features of compression to the neck, and those features are in keeping with manual strangulation. There are also features of lack of oxygen in the blood as a result of neck compression…”
Njoki’s brother, Ephantus Kamengere, noted that the family may pursue additional tests. “As a family, we may decide to do toxicology and other investigations. We are almost satisfied because the intention of collecting her, forcing her to go to the hospital against her will, was there. The instructions were given by the husband.”
Her sister, Priscillah Wanjiru, added, “As the Kamengere family, we are truly grateful to have found justice. Please help us because we have lost our loving sister.”
With Ngure regarded as a person of interest, and postmortem results confirming strangulation, the family is now seeking justice while also asserting their right to conduct her burial.
“We cannot lose our sister that way and also lose the right to bury. So we will discuss as a family, and we will know how to do it. This is an instruction to Montezuma that nobody has a right to take that body before we decide,” Kamengere emphasised.
Ngure was arrested and later released on cash bail after recording a statement with the police last Friday. Others who have recorded statements include Dr Onyancha, Njoki’s personal doctor, and nurses from the hospital who had contact with her.
Sources close to the investigation indicate that more suspects are being sought, some of whom have gone into hiding, and could face murder charges.
Chiromo Hospital Group CEO, Dr Vincent Hongo, issued a statement on Tuesday evening, confirming that the facility is fully cooperating with the authorities, has preserved all records, and is supporting the investigation.
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