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Friday, February 23, 2007

The Strange Events Of The Night That Simon Matheri Ikere Was Killed

It is now emerging that some very strange things happened the night Kenya's most wanted man, Simon Matheri Ikere was gunned down in Athi River. Just as in the crime world that the late 30-year-old Matheri lived in and died in, things usually happen and what is left behind is only the evidence.

After Matheri met his death, rather instantly, the over 100 policemen involved in the operation were overjoyed. So overjoyed that they started behaving weirdly. They trooped around the house of the dead thug, seating on his seats and doing all sorts of bizarre things. When the TV cameras came they caught a hearty meal of chicken and chapatti, which this writer assumed had been Matheri's last meal. With the information now available, this is highly unlikely because the police operation took place at about 1 am and Matheri his wife, family and accomplice were already asleep.

So where did the chicken and chapati come from? Was it part of the policemen's eccentric celebration? Was poor Mrs Matheri forced at that ungodly hour to cook for some of the almost 100 police officers?

It was after the celebrations had been going on for quite a while that somebody remembered to call the press. It takes a minimum of about 40 minutes to drive from Nairobi to Athi River at that time of the night when the roads would be virtually clear of any traffic. Taking into consideration the time that would have been required for the crew to be assembled, the whole exercise would have taken over an hour.

This would explain the position of Matheri's body by the time the cameras started rolling and the still press cameras flashing. It is rather obvious that Matheri died with his hands handcuffed behind him. The jubilant over-excited cops forgot to remove the handcuffs immediately. So by the time the body had to be prepared for press photography what was left of Matheri had become stiff. This process is known as Rigor Mortis and usually sets in about 3 to 4 hours after death. The timing will depend to some extent on surrounding temperatures. This stiffness is temporary and lasts 2 to 3 days. Read more about Rigor mortis.

There was no way that those hands would have been moved from where they were without breaking some bones, which would have raised too many questions.

So Kenyans saw a body with hands stubbornly behind, as if handcuffed but heard a story about Matheri trying to cock his gun while exposed to the police firepower. Matheri was ruthless, but he was also smart, to have been able to elude the police for so long. There was no way he would have made such a stupid mistake. His bullet wound also contradicts such a story. Matheri's wounds were in the head and suggested a single shot fired from pointblank range. It is also highly likely that the shot was fired when Matheri was kneeling down. Had Matheri come out with a gun, then he would have had many more wounds all over the body from the guns of the over 100 policemen who had laid the ambush for him outside his house.

Kenyans really don't care because with Matheri's death, many are feeling much safer and the fact that Matheri surrendered but was still killed execution-style by police, is not important. After all, Matheri did not show mercy to those who were unfortunate enough to end up on the other side of his blazing guns.

But the strange events of that night continued to the next day where an accomplice on hearing of the death of Matheri is said to have promptly committed suicide. Villagers in Gachie, where Matheri also lived, promptly set the body on fire. A relative of Matheri is said to have tried to stop them and was killed in the process. This is the first case in the history of Kenya, where a hardened criminal has committed suicide on hearing of the death of an accomplice. My my, wonders never cease with the Kenya police do they?

A Kenyan safari of a lifetime at a price you will not believe.