Residents of Kiandegwa village in Mwea were shocked after a 24-year-old woman committed suicide inside a police cell.
Natasha Ng'endo Maina, a mother of two, allegedly committed herself while being arrested at the Karaba police station near the Embu-Kirinyaga border.
According to reports, the woman was being held at the police station with her husband, Joseph Maina Ndogo, after being arrested for reportedly fighting inside a pub and causing a public disturbance.
Maina claimed he was arrested along with his wife after following her to a neighborhood pub and demanded to know why she was drinking without his knowledge.
According to reports, the pub owner called the police after a heated dispute between husband and wife.
The couple were taken to the nearby Karaba police station and detained separately.
“I was shocked to learn while still being held in the cell that my wife had died by suicide, an act she allegedly committed using her Lesso,” said Maina.
“I suspect she may have been tortured while being held in the cell. I am calling for thorough investigations into the matter," said a distraught Maina.
Crispinus Ogutu, the Mwea Sub-County police chief, has refuted reports that the deceased was beaten, claiming that she committed suicide inside the cell with a lesso.
"The woman could have died by suicide, possibly under the influence of alcohol as she was drunk when she was arrested. In fact, police officers were called by a member of public," said Ogutu.
