This archive report was first published on 24 December 2019.
December 24, 2019
Postmortem results have revealed that Court of Appeal Judge Otieno Odek died due to a blood clot in his right leg. The clot blocked an artery, and according to Chief Government pathologist Johanssen Oduor, the judge's prolonged sitting hours may have contributed to the clot.
Two pathologists conducted an autopsy on the judge's body, which took several hours at the Aga Khan Hospital mortuary. The family and detectives waited patiently for the results, which were finally revealed by Oduor.
At the time of his death, Judge Odek had a full in-tray with a dozen high-profile cases, some of which were due for judgment this week. His body was found in his apartment in Kisumu, and it is suspected that he may have died at the weekend.
His driver had gone to pick him up in the morning but could not reach him on phone. Upon checking his house, the driver found the door locked from inside, and after reporting the incident to his seniors, the door was broken into, revealing the judge's body on his bed.
Justice Odek's family, led by his elder brother Yonah Odek, has yet to deliberate on the post-mortem results but is in the final stages of preparing for the burial. The family plans to remove the body from the mortuary on Thursday and bury him on Friday.
