Makadara Court discharges five suspects in Joy Garden Pupil Death

Two directors and three teachers of Joy Garden Primary School who had been arrested following the mysterious death of a Grade 8 pupil in March are now free after the Makadara Law Court discharged them.

The court consequently closed the miscellaneous file, stating that investigations into the incident have been completed.

The court further recommended a public inquest instead of pursuing murder charges, noting that maintaining the file would be contradictory.

“Since the ODPP has given its recommendation, it is up to the police to forward the file to court and that cannot be the basis for sustaining the miscellaneous application,” the court ruled.

The five, through lawyer Danstan Omari, had asked the court to dismiss the case since investigations had acquitted his clients.

“Since the investigations had exonorated the respondents, it would be prejudicial to their rights to maintain the miscellaneous file, as that would mean the conditions earlier on imposed by the court would be subsisting that limiting their liberty,” Omari argued.

The deceased's family however countered Omari's plea on grounds that the file should remain active pending the inquest proceedings.

Wesley Njiru fell from the seventh floor of one of the school's building on March 15, 2024.

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) visited the school and obtained CCTV footage in a bid to establish events leading up to the boy's death.

Two directors, the headteacher, and a teacher at the school were subsequently summoned to Buru Buru police station to record a statement on the same.

Njiru's family thereafter disputed the boy's autopsy report, citing foul play.

The family insisted that the death of the minor did not coincide with the autopsy report, adding that there was no blood at the crime scene despite the report stating the pupil fell from the seventh floor.