The family of popular content creator Tabitha Gatwiri recently released a statement divulging on what caused her sudden death.
In a statement shared by the late Gatwiri’s industry colleague Naomi Kuria on Friday night, the late influencer’s family revealed that a post-mortem had established two plausible causes of death.
According to the pathologist’s report done at the Kenyatta University Funeral Home, the comedian died from suffocation.
“The late Gatwiri passed on from positional asphyxia with brain oedema,” the statement read adding that a full toxicology report would be conducted soon to rule out the possibility of poisoning.
Scientifically known as postural asphyxia, positional asphyxia is a type of suffocation that occurs when a person’s position hinders them from breathing adequately. It typically occurs when a person’s mouth or nose is blocked or their lungs cannot expand properly.
When one passes away from positional asphyxia, autopsy findings typically include brain oedema – the swelling of the brain.
Burial plans are currently underway and Gatwiri’s family is set to issue a communication on the same.
Gatwiri’s passing, which was announced on October 31, took the Kenyan content creation fraternity by shock, with a number of high-profile personalities using their platform to mourn the comedian.
A number of the late comedian’s close friends shared on social media that she fell ill two days before her passing but she was still in high spirits nonetheless as detailed in screenshots of text messages shared by some of her industry friends.
Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka also joined the entertainment fraternity in mourning the actress saying, "She was a young woman determined to change the world for the better with her ideas. Our discussions on the State of the Nation and what her generation could achieve given the opportunity were mind-provoking."
In the days leading up to the discovery of her body, Gatwiri’s brother had grown increasingly concerned about her well-being after calls and texts went unanswered.
He eventually decided to go to her house, only to discover her lifeless body. Her death was announced on Thursday, October 31.
Gatwiri was one of the more successful content creators on social media, boasting well over 120,000 followers on TikTok.
