KENYA: Secrets of Late Makueni County Senator Mutula Kilonzo post-mortem tests

By MARTIN MUTUA

Doctors investigating the sudden death of Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo have solved most of the mysteries surrounding his death last month, we can reliably report.

Their findings are now only being held back awaiting completion of specialised tests of samples of his liver, which was found to have unusual damage. Reliable sources say samples of body hair are also being inspected abroad for poison. The bloody vomit, stomach contents and other samples tested at the Government Chemist laboratories in Nairobi, however, all showed no sign of any poisons.

Lab sources we cannot name because they are not authorised to reveal details of the pathology and toxicology tests say the probable cause of death appears clear. Mr Kilonzo, who was 64 years old, died on April 27 this year at Valhalla, his home on the expansive 1,500-acre Kwa Kyelu ranch in Machakos County.

Impeccable sources told The Standard On Saturday that samples of bloody vomit taken to the Government Chemist for testing had not revealed any known toxin.

Lab sources

“However, it was explained to us that Mutula was being treated for tuberculosis by his doctor,” added laboratory sources. “That was the reason for the blood.” Nail scrapings showed no foreign DNA from skin or blood, which would have suggested physical contact with another person in a struggle.

Tests of food items found in the former Cabinet minister’s home also found no sign of poison. Samples were checked for radioactivity to rule out poisoning with agents like polonium-210 allegedly used in the separate killings of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko. The tests were negative. Samples of body hair are being tested to rule out poison completely. Test results shown to us show Mutula’s blood had traces of sildenafil citrate, used to treat high blood pressure or in male products like Viagra and Levitra. It is not immediately clear if this has a bearing on the cause of death.

Pathologists seeking to confirm the findings of the preliminary autopsy are zeroing in on Mutula’s liver, which was described as curiously “dry”. They now hope to establish whether an unknown “designer poison” or ordinary medication administered over a period of time caused the damage. “The liver looked dry as if it had been burnt,” says a source that attended the post-mortem exam on April 30. “(Mutula) was not a heavy alcohol drinker; if he had been, then the liver would have been swollen with fat around it. The tests in the UK will establish whether there was a designer poison or not.”

Dr Ian Calder, a sudden death pathology specialist hired by the Kilonzo family, is supervising the tests of the liver and body hair samples. Many of the more than 100 samples collected by police, however, are unlikely to be tested at all.

Samples collected

“Police swarmed us with over 100 samples including his pajamas, underwear, blankets and other things which are not necessary,” our source added. This appears to be an overreaction to criticism over the number of samples collected in the crash that killed Prof George Saitoti, then Internal Security minister. Many of the samples are now stored to await the release of the report and possible re-examination in the event of a dispute. Mutula’s body was embalmed before his burial so no further samples can be taken from it for investigations.

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