This archive report was first published on 17 December 2019.
On Monday morning, Judge James Otieno Odek, a 53-year-old Court of Appeal judge, was found dead in his Kisumu apartment.
According to a police report, Odek was found face-up naked in his bed, with a blanket drawn up below his chest. Three sex-enhancing tablets, in a packet of six, had been taken, but it was unclear by whom or when.
The judge had arrived in Kisumu on Thursday as part of the Court of Appeal judges scheduled to hear cases in Western Kenya, including the Kibos Sugar factory pollution case and the Ksh 2.3 billion milimani land fraud case.
His driver dropped him at the apartment and left, but when the driver returned to pick him up, he found the door locked. The driver went to report at Kisumu Central Police Station, where the police had to break the door to gain entry.
Chief Magistrate Julius Ng'ang'a confirmed the police had to break the door to gain entry to the apartment.
Police commander Vincent Makokha confirmed that investigators and a pathologist visited the scene before the body was taken to Kisumu's Aga Khan Hospital Mortuary for a postmortem.
It was reported that Odek had bruises on his right arm, but the police dismissed it, stating 'there were no signs of struggle in the apartment.'
However, preliminary investigation established that the deceased had bled from his private parts and left ear.
It was unclear whether his death was linked to the sex-enhancing drugs, some other condition, or foul play.
Chief Justice David Maraga expressed his condolences, describing Odek as 'a distinguished judge and a prolific legal scholar who was widely published and celebrated across the continent and beyond.'
