On 6 February 2019, 37-year-old Caroline Mwatha Ochieng’, a

Kenyan The Demographics of Kenya is monitored by the Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics. Kenya is a multi-ethnic state in East Africa. Its total population was at 47,558,296 as of the 2019 census. A national census was conducted in 1999, although t ...

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

and founder of the Dandora Community Center (which investigates and documents cases of police killings in

Dandora Dandora is an Estate in Kenya's capital and largest city, Nairobi. It is part of the Embakasi division. Surrounding neighbourhoods include slums such as Kariobangi, Baba Dogo, Gitare Marigo and Korogocho. Dandora was established in 1977, with ...

), went missing. Her body was found in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

's City mortuary on 12 February where it had been registered under a different name. Police reports established that she had died on 7 February. A post-mortem examination determined that she died due to

exsanguination Exsanguination is the loss of blood from the circulatory system of a vertebrate, usually leading to death. The word comes from the Latin 'sanguis', meaning blood, and the prefix 'ex-', meaning 'out of'. Exsanguination has long been used as a met ...

. The bleeding was caused by a rupture at the rear of her

uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the hollow organ, organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic development, embryonic and prenatal development, f ...

, reportedly as the result of an

unsafe abortion An unsafe abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by people lacking the necessary skills, or in an environment lacking minimal medical standards, or both. An unsafe abortion is a life-threatening procedure. It includes self-induced abortions, ...

. The remains of a male fetus were still in the womb, minus a hand.

Death

Her father and husband told reporters that they did not believe police reports, since they were unaware that she had been

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

. Patrick Gathara of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' noted skepticism was warranted, since police had been involved with covering up the murders of human rights defenders in the past. A second, independent autopsy confirmed the cause of death. Amnesty International Kenya stated: "If Mwatha was not killed by State execution, she was killed by a system that allows crude abortion clinics to exist for its failure to provide safe abortion services."

Aftermath of death

Memorial services were held on 21 February at

Uhuru Park Uhuru Park is a 12.9 hectare (32 acre) recreational park adjacent to the central business district of Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation ...

's Freedom Corner. They were attended by Chief Justice

Willy Mutunga Willy Munyoki Mutunga, Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya, EGH (born 16 June 1946) is a Kenyan lawyer, intellectual, reform activist, and was the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth Special Envoy to the Maldives. He is also an active member o ...

, politician

Martha Karua Martha Wangari Karua (; born 22 September 1957) is a Kenyan politician. She is a former long-standing member of parliament for Gichugu Constituency and an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya. She was Minister for Justice until resigning from t ...

and Nairobi Women Representative Esther Passaris. A

Requiem Mass A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is u ...

was refused by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

because of its opposition to

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

. The funeral was on 23 February in Asembo Bay,

Siaya County Siaya County is one of the counties in the former Nyanza Province in western Kenya. It is bordered by Busia County to the north, Kakamega County, and Vihiga County to the northeast and Kisumu County to the southeast. It shares a water border ...

near her family's home. She is survived by her two children and a husband. Eight people have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the abortion, which is illegal in Kenya unless the mother's life is at risk. The clinic where the procedure was performed was not licensed to operate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mwatha, Caroline 2010s crimes in Nairobi 2010s missing person cases 2019 in Kenya Abortion-rights movement Criminal justice ethics Deaths by person in Kenya Deaths from bleeding February 2019 crimes in Africa Formerly missing people Human rights abuses in Kenya Missing person cases in Africa Violence against women in Kenya

Death

Aftermath of death

See also

References