Police probe death of Nairobi journalist Amos Maina at Mirema Drive Pub as CCTV footage captured his last moments
Police probe death of Nairobi journalist Amos Maina at Mirema Drive Pub as CCTV footage captured his last moments
A Nairobi-based journalist, Amos Maina, died after consuming a suspected poisonous drink at Ngaini Pub along Mirema Drive in Roysambu.
Police said they are investigating the incident.
Amos Harun Maina was a journalist for the Standard Group Plc.
He was married to Regina Wanjiru, and they had two children.
According to police and family accounts, Amos left his home on Sunday November 16 at around 4 pm to visit the popular entertainment joint, where he was known to be a regular patron.
His wife, Regina Maina, said she received a distress call informing her that Amos had suddenly become unresponsive inside the pub.
She expected him to return that same evening, only to be struck with the devastating news a few hours later that he was dead.
When she arrived, she found him placed on a chair, motionless.
He was later confirmed dead. A postmortem conducted at the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH) revealed that Amos died from acute hemorrhagic gastritis — a condition involving severe bleeding of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum.
Medical examiners concluded that he likely consumed a poison-contaminated drink, which caused immediate internal damage leading to his death.
The owner of Ngaini Pub, Nancy Njoki, confirmed the incident but distanced her establishment from responsibility, stating that the fatal drink did not come from her bar.
She insisted that the pub does not sell adulterated or unsafe alcohol.
Police have launched investigations to determine the source of the poisonous substance and the exact circumstances surrounding the journalist’s death.
Security cameras at the bar showed the moment the deceased arrived alone, had drinks with other revelers and how he was found unresponsive later in the night.
He slammed his head behind blocking breathing. A reveler noticed his poor sitting position and tried to help him oblivious of the fact that he had died.
According to the footage, the Standard Group journalist arrived at the bar around 4:18 p.m. on Sunday, November 16, 2025.
As soon as he entered, he went to a table where a lady and a gentleman were seated. He greeted them and then moved to the next table. At 4:30 p.m., he joined another table where he had drinks with other revelers. At 4:54 p.m., he was joined by a lady.
They talked briefly before she left the club. Later, Maina was seen moving toward the pool section and playing for a while around 5:42 p.m. At 5:45 p.m., he returned to his table, sipped his drink, then headed back to the pool area.
At 5:18 p.m., he joined a lady seated in the club. At 5:23 p.m., he left two ladies he had been talking to for about five minutes. During this conversation, he did not drink anything.
At 7:47 p.m., Amos ordered a drink. During this time, very few revelers remained in the club.
The drink was brought to the table before he joined. The lady who served him later joined him, followed by a second lady who also took the drink. At 7: 56 p.m., the lady stepped away. At 8.0: 1 p.m., Amos, who had been jovial since entering the club, suddenly dozed off at the table.
He remained like this for almost an hour until 9 p.m. The critical moment occurs at 9:22 p.m., when Amos’ neck suddenly tilts sharply backward.
He stayed in this position for nearly an hour, until around 9 p.m., as seen in CCTV footage.
His brother Peter arrived later to check on him and realised he had died. He called his wife who joined in rushing him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
He called for justice and speedy investigations to find whoever was responsible for his demise. “When I arrived, I found him slumped at the bar with his head resting on the table and his hands hanging down. I tried to wake him, even pouring water on him, but he didn’t respond.”
Police have taken statements from various witnesses as part of the probe into the death.