In a recent update, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has provided insights into the circumstances surrounding the death of a Kenyan diplomat, David Karira Gatuthu, who was stationed at the Kenya High Commission in the UK. During a session with the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence, and Foreign Relations, Secretary for Foreign Office Ambassador Raphael Maikara, representing Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi, addressed questions raised by Kinangop MP Hon. Kwenya Thuku regarding the controversial death of the diplomat.
Ambassador Maikara informed the committee that David Gatuthu had taken his own life. According to Maikara, Gatuthu had been admitted to a London hospital a few days prior to his death, where medical professionals diagnosed him with depression.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement stating, “On Thursday, February 16 at 1925 hrs, London Metropolitan Police were informed that Mr. David Gatuthu had escaped from Barnet Hospital where he had been undergoing treatment for acute depressive episode having been taken there on Tuesday, February 14, 2023.”
Subsequently, London Metropolitan Police initiated a search for Gatuthu following his escape. On February 18, the police reported that Gatuthu, having been identified, had tragically jumped from the fourth floor of a building in Central London, leading to his immediate demise.
Upon learning of Gatuthu’s passing, the Foreign Affairs Ministry promptly assembled a team and dispatched them to the UK to investigate the circumstances surrounding the diplomat’s death. Maikara explained, “The team undertook its mission from Thursday, 23rd February 2023, to Sunday, 26th February 2023. The team engaged with officials both from the High Commission and the UK Government and recommended that for the matter to be decisively concluded, there was a need for an inquest by the UK Government.”
An inquest is an inquiry designed to establish the facts surrounding an incident, especially when it involves undesirable or suspicious circumstances. Currently, UK authorities are withholding the deceased diplomat’s body pending the completion of the inquiry into the incident.
It’s worth noting that the information disclosed by Mudavadi’s statement contradicts earlier reports from February this year, which claimed that the counselor had passed away due to an illness. Former Foreign Affairs CS Alfred Mutua had stated, “My sincere condolences to the family of one of our Foreign and Diaspora Affairs staff David Gatuthu, who passed away while on posting after a short illness,” during that period.
