Puzzle as DCI rules as suicide death of Murang’a man found with missing genitals
The body of Charles Moko was found dangling from a tree with a knife sticking in his chest on February 3. The genitals were several feet from the body.
The area where Moko’s reproductive organs had been severed was oozing with blood that snaked down his thighs to the feet and to the dry earth that was about a quarter a meter from the swinging body. More blood oozed from the chest, down to the stomach, navel, and legs.
“This is a mixture of witchcraft, horror movies, and end time. It is satanic,” said Rev Peter Mwaura of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa when he visited the gory scene. “God, kindly give me a word that describes these strange things I am witnessing.”
The man of cloth then began praying, beseeching God to visit the society, “especially this home that is agonizing to understand exactly what happened to its son, who here cannot speak for himself”.
A visibly shocked Kahuro Deputy County Commissioner Frederick Mull said investigations into the death had been launched. “We are going to take time to understand what happened, given that the level of violence is beyond comprehension,” the administrator told journalists and villagers.
As homicide detectives processed the scene, one asked his colleagues: “Crew, are we profiling a murder or suicide?” The one the question was directed to answered: “I am not even thinking. I am eager to know exactly what happened.”
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After months of waiting, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) finally released a report as to what might have happened to Moko.
But the report made by the detectives has added more confusion to the mystery. It paints a picture of a mysterious but gruesome suicide. The report begins by giving details of the last moments of the man. Moko talked to his elder sister on February 2 around 3 p.m., it says.
He is reported to have told his sister: “You people have a habit of leaving me here alone. You will soon return to find I have done something shocking”. According to the DCI report, Moko went to a nearby kiosk and bought a matchbox in the evening, around 7 p.m.
“Moko returned to his house, where he lived alone, and prepared ugali, which he ate with a piece of avocado. The food remains were found in the house,” the report says.
From what the DCI says, it appears the ugali and avocado were Moko’s last supper. It is not known what time Moko burnt his personal effects outside the house.
It is also not known the time he walked approximately 80 meters to a mango tree on his father’s land. Early risers in the village saw Moko dangling from the tree, with neighbors and family members quickly responding to distress calls. What awaited them was a dreadful scene.
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“After residents reported finding a dead man, we responded and took a scene of crime officers to profile the incident,” the DCI report says.
According to the report that was handed to then-County Criminal Investigations Officer Cecilia Mugambi, there was a panga on the ground near the dangling body. “The exhibits found were the body itself, a machete, the rope, a knife, and two testicles plus their penis still attached,” the police report says.
It adds that the knife had been removed from Moko’s chest “where it had been buried and the package of testicles, the penis and pelvic would still look fresh”. The police report further estimates that “with blood still dripping and yet to clot, the death could have occurred early that morning.
The report concludes that Moko’s death was suicide “but we cannot describe the exact sequence of events”. The report says three things happened to the body – the hanging, driving the knife in the chest, and severing of the man’s genitals.
“It is not clear what came first, second, and last but the post-mortem says it was a high possibility suicide,” the police report adds. The attached post-mortem report says the knife had an upward slant, indicating Moko possibly drove it into his own chest.
“The genitals were severed by at least five movements of the knife and not with a clean cut,” it adds. “The cutter was struggling to get the job done. The wound pattern on the severed genitals matches that on the navel to indicate they belonged to the deceased.”
The pathologist’s report further notes that Moko, who was the second born in a family of five, was highly intoxicated at the time of death.
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Moko was the only son of Mr and Mrs David Mwangi. “The body tissues, nerves, and brain indicated a man who was under the influence of alcohol and possible opioid drugs,” the report says.
Police say the post-mortem corroborated family statements that described Moko as a hard drug addict who also took alcohol and chewed miraa.
The explanation that police give to support suicide theory by use of such extreme violence is that opioids have been scientifically proven to block the brain’s sensation of pain.
That is why Moko could have inflicted such horrendous wounds on his body and finally killed himself. Moko never went beyond Standard Eight.
After his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examination, he enrolled in a welding course and used the craft to fend for himself, family members said.
In a statement to the DCI, Mr. Mwangi described his son as a “nice man who even under the influence (of alcohol or drugs) was not a threat to other people, related well with family members but was suicidal”.
He gave the example of an incident in 2019 when he put a metallic rod in the fire until it was red hot.
“Moko then proceeded to scald his ears while laughing, making me scream and ask neighbors to rescue my son from himself,” he says in the statement.
Puzzle as DCI rules as suicide death of Murang’a man found with missing genitals