Suspect found dead in Kerugoya Law Courts cells’ toilet

Police and Independent Policing Oversight Authority are investigating an incident where a suspect was found dead in a cell toilet at the Kerugoya Law Courts.

The incident happened on Wednesday January 14, 2026 after the deceased identified as John Kinyua, 40 had taken plea for creating disturbance.

He was arrested in Kibingo on Tuesday and detained overnight before being presented in court the following day and pleaded not guilty and was taken to the cells pending pre-trial that was scheduled for January 19, 2026, officials said.

He was locked up there with about 20 other suspects waiting to be moved to the local Kerugoya Prisons.

It was as the prison officials were collecting the group that they found Kinyua lying unconscious. He lay on the floor of the toilet of the cells. Police said he was cold then and that immediate action was taken and he was rushed to Kerugoya County Referral Hospital for medical attention, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

It is not clear what caused the death. The body was moved to the mortuary pending an autopsy and other procedures.

Elsewhere in Kiminini, Bungoma County, officials are investigating the drowning of a 12-year-old boy in River Nzoia.

The police said the boy’s skin had peeled off indicating the body had been in the water for a while.

It is not clear how and when the boy drowned and the body was discovered on Wednesday January 14 and moved to the mortuary pending identification and autopsy.

Police want to establish how the boy drowned, if any.

And police in Awendo, Migori County are investigating the murder of a woman whose body was found in River Kwar in Kware village.

The woman was identified as Jane Auma, 53 and she had injuries on her left leg and face with a rope tied around her neck. She was last seen in the area on January 10, police said. The body was moved to the mortuary pending autopsy.