Kenyan lawmaker’s death: 40-year-old’s viscera preserved for analysis after kin claims he had no heart ailment

The viscera samples of the 40-year-old Kenyan lawmaker, who was found dead in a Mulund (West) hotel on February 12, has been preserved for analysis. Cyrus Omondi was a member of the county assembly (MCA), Kahawa Wendani. The viscera samples would be sent to the forensic lab for further tests to ascertain the exact cause of the legislator’s death.

The three-member panel of doctors at Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar who conducted a post-mortem on Saturday have reserved the cause of Omondi’s death.

Mulund police, which is investigating the case, suspect that Omondi died of cardiac arrest and have prima facie ruled out any foul play in the case. The police have registered an accidental death case, but are investigating other angles, after the lawmaker’s family told the Kenyan media that he did not have any heart ailment. “We checked the CCTV footage of the hotel where he was staying and he can be seen entering alone,” said a police officer privy to the investigation.

While the Kenyan media reported that Omondi was in the city to attend a workshop with his colleagues in the education committee, the police said he was part of a delegation which had visited the city to participate in a karate tournament at Mulund. However, Omondi arrived in the city after the tournament concluded, the police said.

On February 11, Omondi had dinner with his Kenyan colleagues and Indian co-ordinators and went to sleep at Trimurti Hotel around midnight. Around 7.30pm on February 12, an Indian co-ordinator went to call him for shopping and sightseeing, as they had decided earlier.

Omondi did not answer the door, following which his Kenyan colleague, who was staying in Thane, was called to the hotel. After Omondi’s colleague reached the Mulund hotel, the hotel staff opened the door using a duplicate key. Omondi was lying on the floor, beside the bed, with his face facing the floor. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead before admission.