This archive report was first published on 22 July 2021.
On July 22, 2021, police in Kenya intercepted a vehicle carrying the body of popular Kikuyu musician Edward Irungu Wanjaro Junior, who had died due to drowning according to a postmortem examination at Embu level 5 hospital mortuary.
The vehicle was headed to Kenyatta National Hospital mortuary when police officers at Kenol police station intervened, citing a tip that the body had been moved from the morgue without proper authorization.
According to Muranga South Subcounty police commander Alexander Shikondi, police officers had been informed that the body was being transported to Nairobi, prompting them to investigate the circumstances surrounding its release from the morgue.
After verifying the documentation, including a burial permit, police found that the relatives of the deceased had obtained the necessary permits and had the consent of the father to bury the musician.
Shikondi stated, 'We got information that the body was on the way to Nairobi then we intercepted the vehicle but we found they had burial permit and no complaints had been placed to any police station barring the transfer of or burial of the body. We even talked to the father of the deceased who said they agreed and gave the deceased’s wife go-ahead to bury his husband.'
