Mysterious Death of Kenyan Man and a Former Houston, TX Resident Shocks His Family

The deceased's mother Florence Othieno and father Lucas Otieno speak to journalists

BY Dickens Wasonga.

A  Kenyan family want the government to help it probe under what circumstances their son who was residing in the US died in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Speaking to journalists in Kisumu , the father of the 29 year old man said they were getting unclear information on how and what might have led to the death of their late son-Franklin Otieno Othieno.

According Mr.Lucas Othieno, a resident of Kisumu’s Nyalenda estate , his late son had been a student at the Houston College in the United States of America from the year 2002 having gone there to study pharmacy.

Accompanied by his wife during the press interview, Othieno  said his family learned of the death  through a telephone call they received from his girl friend, a Kenyan who lives in the USA.

According the information relayed to them by the woman, Otieno died while in the custody of immigration police in Netherlands although his family had not been notified by the authorities that he was being held or was under investigations for whatever reason.

The grief stricken father told reporters that sometime in June this year he talked with this son who was upbeat about coming back home after clearing his study period.

”It came as a big shock when on Monday this week  I received a call from his girl friend informing us that he had died .It was even more shocking that he died while in the custody of the police in Netherlands.’ ‘he said.

He said the family was very worried because the information they were receiving was so scanty and left several questions answered.

”His girl friend has offered very  little information about how my son died. She also claims to have been informed of the death by the immigration police in Netherlands who had called her that same Sunday.” He said.

The father disclosed to the media  that he tried to obtain information from the Royal Embassy of Netherlands in Nairobi but what he has so far received would not  shed more light under what circumstances the man died.

Othieno claimed that while officials at the host department in Amsterdam maintained in earlier communication with them that his son had died of aneurysm, those at the Nairobi Embassy asserted he died due to cardiac arrest.

He  went on to add that his son was not sick and was in constant communication with his girlfriend in the US.

”The very Sunday which they said my son died at 3.30 pm, the Netherland’s time ,was the day he had a telephone conversation with his girlfriend and according to her, he did not complain of anything.” he said.

According Mr. Othieno, the Netherlands authorities are planning to fly the body into the country early next week, a move he has objected to arguing that it smirks of suspicion.

He demanded that a postmortem be done a fresh on the body of his son and witnessed by representatives from the family and the government to ascertain what led to the death of his first born son.

Othieno also want the Netherlands authorities to deliver the body to his Siaya Alego rural home and not dump it in Nairobi. He said he was not able to raise money to bring the body to his home village for burial even if the authorities flew it to the country’s capital city.

Source: https://africanpress.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/mysterious-death-shock-kenyan-family/