Police in Embu on Wednesday prevented a potentially volatile situation after a large group of bodaboda riders stormed Embu County Level V Hospital demanding the release of a colleague’s body before a mandatory postmortem examination could be conducted.
The hospital administrator alerted authorities at around 5:35 p.m. after dozens of riders rode into the hospital compound and converged at the mortuary with intentions of forcibly taking the body of 23-year-old Peter Mburia Maina.
A team of police officers responded to the scene and found the riders gathered around the mortuary facility with their motorcycles.
Investigations revealed that Maina had been involved in a road accident on the evening of June 9 along the Embu-Kiritiri Road near a Rubis petrol station.
He was allegedly hit by an unidentified motorcycle rider who fled the scene. Good Samaritans rushed him to Embu County Level V Hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Police said the deceased’s family had earlier visited the station and were advised that a postmortem examination was necessary before the body could be released.
However, bodaboda riders reportedly intervened and demanded that the procedure be abandoned, insisting on taking the body immediately.
Police officers managed to calm the situation after engaging both the family and the riders and explaining the legal requirements surrounding sudden death investigations.
To avert further tension, hospital management quickly organized the postmortem examination, which was conducted in the presence of family members and police officers. The body was subsequently released to the family.
Following the exercise, hundreds of bodaboda riders escorted the body in a large motorcycle convoy through Embu town before proceeding to Gakwegori Funeral Home, where it was preserved pending burial arrangements.
Police confirmed that no injuries or damage were reported during the incident and that the situation was brought under control peacefully.
Authorities have been grappling with the menace in the bodaboda sector amid calls for strict measures to manage the same. Some riders are involved in murder and violent crimes. Police say the cases are under probe.
