Tanzania: Wanjiru’s CCTV Cameras Were Not Working – Police

The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)

21 May 2011

Nairobi — Police have discovered that two of the CCTV cameras they were relying on in their investigation on the death of athlete Samuel Wanjiru, were not working on the fateful night.

Police are still piecing together evidence retrieved from CCTV recording. But the investigation might be hampered after it was established that the camera located directly opposite the balcony where Wanjiru allegedly fell had not been working. This is one of the cameras that the police have been relying on to get to know what really transpired.

Nyandarua DCIO Charles Onyango said officers should be given more time to compile the evidence.

Another one was found to be tilted and took over exposed pictures. Meanwhile Wanjiru’s widow Teresia Njeri has been temporarily barred from burying him until an application filed by his mother is determined.

Nakuru High Court judge Anyara Emukule issued interim orders on Thursday after Hannah Wanjiru filed the application under a certificate of urgency.The athlete’s mother wants Ms Teresia Njeri barred from removing the body from Lee Funeral Home or making burial arrangements.In the application filed by lawyer Wilfred Konosi, Wanjiru’s mother said she had learnt that Njeri was planning to bury the athlete on Tuesday without involving her.

She told the Court that given the circumstances surrounding his death as has been widely reported in the media, it is only fair that a proper investigation and a post-mortem be conducted to ascertain the cause of her son’s death.

The lawyer told the Court that there are other women who are claiming to be the wife of the deceased. “The defendant (Njeri) and the deceased were only cohabiting,” the lawyer said. Justice Emukule ordered that the case be heard on June 2.

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