Just over a year after the death of 20-month-old Alexander Mutunga in police custody, his mother, Ziporah Mutheu, is still desperately seeking justice, with the case yet to reach court despite investigations by oversight bodies.
A Debt Dispute Turns Fatal
On May 28, 2024, Mutheu had gone to collect a debt from a local businesswoman in Kambu, Makueni County. The woman instead filed a counter-complaint at the local police station, alleging that Mutheu owed her KSh10,000.
Police officers who arrived to arrest Mutheu found her carrying her baby on her back. She alleges that the officers hit her with a baton and slapped her three times, one blow landing on her son. She fell, and the child struck his head on a pallet and the counter at the station.
While in custody, Alexander began vomiting and convulsing. Mutheu says she repeatedly begged the duty officer to take her child to hospital, but her pleas were ignored.
“When locked in the cell at 5:30pm, my baby developed a fever, and when I tried breastfeeding him, he started vomiting,” she told KTN News a week after the incident. “I banged on the cell door, but the officer said the inspector had directed them to keep me locked up.”
Mutheu recalls begging again at around 7:00pm for medical help, but the request was still denied. It was not until 9:00pm that she was told she could take the child to hospital — only to discover he had already died.
Postmortem and Alleged Cover-Up
A postmortem by government pathologist Grace Midigo at Kambu Sub-County Hospital found that Alexander died of internal bleeding caused by blunt force trauma to the head.
Mutheu says that soon after the incident, some officers called her asking her to revise her statement to indicate she was released earlier and that her baby was alive when she left the station.
Despite statements being recorded and an Occurrence Book (OB) entry made, neither the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) nor the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has publicly updated the family about the case. Attempts by Kenyans.co.ke to get a comment from IPOA reportedly went unanswered.
A Family in Crisis
Human rights organisation Usikimye says Mutheu still calls and visits monthly to enquire about progress, but the matter has yet to reach court. Founder Njeri wa Migwi said the mother has endured further suffering since the tragedy.
Her shop was robbed while she was in police custody. Her older son briefly went missing. Her husband later left her, accusing her of being “too stuck looking for justice and her grief.”
Call for Action
The case has raised serious questions about police conduct, child safety, and accountability. Under the law, police are required to protect minors in custody and ensure immediate access to medical care. Failure to do so can amount to criminal negligence.
Human rights groups are now calling on IPOA and DCI to expedite investigations and ensure officers involved are prosecuted. “No family should wait more than a year for justice after such a clear tragedy,” wa Migwi said.
As the anniversary of Alexander’s death passes, his mother says she will not give up. “I want justice for my son,” she told activists recently. “I want those who did this held accountable.”