Dr Jason Ndaka Kaviti, the former Chief Government Pathologist, died last Wednesday in the Nairobi Hospital. The news of his death was reported in The Standard on Monday in a report by Mutinda Mwanzia headlined, ‘The man who claimed Ouko committed suicide’. The Forum feels that it cannot let Dr Kaviti’s passing go without comment in order to put on record some of the, shall we call them mistakes, that Kaviti made and to shed a little light on the myths that have grown out of those errors.

Did Dr. Robert Ouko commit suicide?

Dr Kaviti’s chief claims to fame, if they can be termed such, were to have promoted the idea that Kenya’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Robert Ouko, had committed suicide in February 1990 and that British photographer Julie Ward had been struck by lightning or killed by wild animals in September 1988. Both conclusions were ludicrously wrong. (Let us not forget that this once-considered suicide-committer’s body was found charred and burnt with diesel).

Robert Ouko was murdered where his body was found, near his farm at Got Alila. Forensic examinations, conducted by  a team from the United Kingdom’s New Scotland Yard, found, with no recourse for speculation, that Ouko was murdered and that the murder was conducted between 3am and 1pm on the 13th of February, 1990.

If you are interested in the provable facts surrounding the saga of Dr. Robert Ouko’s murder, we suggest you read this article ‘Robert Ouko’s murder: the media must report these 8 facts‘.