DCI in Trouble After Witness Under Protection Dies in Unclear Circumstances

The office of the  Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is on the spot after a witness who was under protection died.

Patricia Marijem, 51, a Dutch national who was under the government's witness protection program died under mysterious circumstances in Mombasa.

According to the Star, an officer privy to the case accused senior police officers of abandoning the woman despite placing her under the witness protection program.

[caption caption="Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) boss George Kinoti"][/caption]

Marijem is said to have been a was a key witness in a sexual violence case she filed against her estranged husband.

On Wednesday, she was found dead in a rental house in Utange locality with her death being blamed on how the DCI detectives handled her case.

The Star quotes a source privy to the case indicating that "She was staying in a dilapidated house and could have died from depression or was murdered."

"It is very unfortunate that she was abandoned by the same detectives expected to protect and ensure that she gets justice," the officer is quoted saying.

Officers from Mtwapa Police Station where the woman filled the matter in 2015 are set to be probed following the incident.

Kisauni police boss Sangura Musee, however, indicated that the woman had complained of fever on Monday before she was found dead in the room on Wednesday.

"The body had no visible injuries when she was discovered," Musee stated with homicide officers said to have visited the scene and the body moved to Coast General Hospital mortuary for post-mortem.

[caption caption="Crime scene police line tape"][/caption]

The witness protection program provides the relocation and protection of witnesses and at times their families before, during, and after a trial in exchange for damning testimony that at times means turning against the people you've known, lived or worked with.

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