This archive report was first published on 15 July 2019.
On July 15, 2019, Esther Ouma, an octogenarian mother, collapsed while trying to collect the 'shadow' of her dead son, Caleb Espino, in Mombasa.
Esther had traveled from Siaya county with four friends and relatives to collect the remains, a Luo ritual meant to bring closure to the bereaved family.
However, the police have been criticized for delaying justice for Esther and Espino's young family, with no one arrested despite overwhelming evidence of torture on Espino's body as indicated in autopsy reports.
Speaking on Friday, Muhuri chair Khelef Khalifa said it is unfair that almost a year after his death, no one has been arrested for the murder of Espino, then a 42-year-old tout fending for his wife and four children.
He died on September 18, 2018, at Changamwe police station, where he was being held after being arrested the previous day at the White Castle Bar in Changamwe during a swoop on illicit drinking dens.
According to witness statements collected by the Independent Police Oversight Authority and Muslims for Human Rights, Espino was tortured for hours by two police officers at the station.
“Espino had been handcuffed from behind when the cops punched, kicked, clobbered and stepped on him countless times,” Khalifa said.
Esther was overwhelmed by emotions when she stepped into her third-born's house in Mikindani to start the rituals to collect his shadow, just hours after her arrival.
She collapsed and was rushed to a nearby health facility.
Friday marked 297 days since Espino's death, and Khelef asked, “His children are devastated, his mother depressed and traumatised. Why is this process taking too long and why is justice not being served to Espino's family?”
