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Munyao: Surgeon serving life sentence in Kamiti for buying second-hand phone

Clement Munyao, a Kenyan neurosurgeon, is currently serving a life sentence at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison for the murder of Moses Gituma, a senior officer at Kenya’s Central Bank and brother to former Commissioner of Police Mathew Iteere. In an interview, Munyao shared the events that led to his incarceration.

According to Munyao, he was falsely accused of murder after purchasing a second-hand phone for his daughter from a mortuary attendant at Kenyatta National Hospital, where he also worked. His daughter, a student at Moi University at the time, gave the phone to her boyfriend. The boyfriend was later apprehended by officers while in possession of Gituma’s phone, which belonged to a Central Bank of Kenya employee. During questioning, the boyfriend claimed the phone belonged to his girlfriend, who then led the officers to Munyao.

Munyao stated that he informed the officers that he obtained the phone from a mortician he knew, but was still accused of Gituma’s murder. Despite attempting to prove his innocence, he was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2009. He challenged the verdict but was eventually sentenced to death.

During the interview, Munyao emphasized that he is a highly learned individual, holding a Bachelor in Medicine and Surgery from Nairobi University in 1980, a Masters in Human Medicine and Pathology from the same university in 1987, and a Masters in Forensic Medicine from Scotland in 1991. He also works as a consultant and paralegal at Kamiti and rejected claims that he was a quack doctor.

The murder of Gituma was orchestrated by Munyao and four others, including Gituma’s wife, Janet Karamana, who was accused of hiring hitmen to murder her husband over a dispute over Ksh45 million benefits from the CBK.

Munyao expressed his disappointment in Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), his former employer, for denouncing him and claiming that he was a liar and imposter. He stated that in the 25 years he worked at KNH, no deaths were ever reported under his care.