The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has filed an inquest at the Milimani Law Courts into the mysterious death of the late Jeff Mwathi.

The inquiry was lodged in court after investigators failed to get evidence directly linking anyone to Mwathi’s death in unclear circumstances on February 23 at Kasarani, Nairobi.

Appearing before Magistrate Zainabu Abdul, the DPP told the court that they will call a total of 35 witnesses to testify in Mwathi’s inquest.

Abdul who was appointed to head the inquest by Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina directed the lead investigating officer Clement Mwangi to serve all parties with the witness statements before the hearing date.

Persons of interest

The court was however informed that Mwathi’s family has appointed lawyer Danstan Omari to represent them while Lawrence Njuguna aka DJ Fatxo is represented by lawyer Duncan Okatch.

Mwangi further revealed that the families of Christopher Wangombe and Geoffrey Wanyiki who are persons of interest in the case are also in the process of getting advocates to represent them in the inquest.

The victim’s family led by the deceased’s mother Anne Mwathi and other relatives who were present in court complained that the DPP did not serve them with the letter recommending the inquest.

“We are lost as to why we are here because my client was not supplied with the letter for the inquest,” Omari stated.

The magistrate however fixed the hearing of the inquest to kick off on August 10 when the first witness will take to the stand.

Mwathi, 23, died on February 22, 2023, in unclear circumstances.

Initial police reports cited suicide after the young interior designer allegedly jumped to his death from a friend’s house on the tenth floor of an apartment in Kasarani, Nairobi.

Disputed findings

His family disputed this finding prompting Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki to order homicide detectives from the DCI to take over the case and establish the true circumstances under which Mwathi died. 

The body was on March 31 exhumed and a fresh autopsy was conducted at the gravesite at Mwathi’s parents’ home in Likia, Nakuru county.

Police sought orders for the exhumation of the body after preliminary forensic investigations ruled out suicide as the cause of death.

Detectives wanted to also establish whether he was sexually assaulted before being allegedly murdered.

During the probe, police also visited the room where the deceased is alleged to have jumped from the window.

Upon interrogation, it is said that Mugithi musician DJ Fatxo admitted that Mwathi was in his house the day he died.

All five persons who were at DJ Fatxo’s house when the incident happened were grilled and are now listed as witnesses in the inquest.