ODPP recommends public inquest into Daystar student Lonah Kathambi’s death after CCTV reveals fall
A Nairobi court has ordered a public inquest into Daystar student Lonah Kathambi’s fatal fall from an 11th-floor Ngara building, after CCTV and toxicology reports detailed her final moments.
A Nairobi court has been informed that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has recommended a public inquest into the mysterious death of Daystar University student Lonah Kathambi, who fell from the 11th floor of Harmony Plaza in Ngara.
During Monday's mention, the investigating officer, Johannes Nyangige, told Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Dolphina Arego that the recommendation followed the submission of CCTV footage and a toxicology report detailing the student's final moments.
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According to Nyangige, Kathambi was in the company of Austin Ochieng moments before the fall.
CCTV footage allegedly shows the two attempting to jump from one wing of the building to another.
"Ochieng successfully crossed to the other wing, but Lonah slipped and fell from the 11th floor," the officer stated, adding that the toxicology analysis revealed the deceased was highly intoxicated at the time of her death.
He further told the court that the State has recommended that seven students who had been partying with Lonah that night be treated as State witnesses in the inquest.
The seven—Dennis Kariuki Gitonga, Loise Osilo, Lucy Moraa, Ali Kibwana Kamaku, Precious Kendi Mutembei, and Wendi Kerubo—had earlier been detained for seven days to allow investigators to record statements and retrieve evidence.
Magistrate Arego directed that the matter proceed by way of a public inquest to establish the circumstances surrounding the 21-year-old student's death.
The court is expected to issue further directions on the commencement of the inquest.
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