Omar Lali is almost completely being exonerated of all accusations related to the death of Tecra Muigai as scientific procedures carried out can’t ascertain cause of death.
The Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji terminated court proceedings against Omar Lali on July 16th 2020 after he found the evidence “unclear and insufficient” to sustain it.
The DPP perused the file and he found the evidence weak, forcing him to drop the murder charge against Lali who was accused of killing his late girlfriend Tecra.
The sudden about-turn came only three days after the prosecution had approved the murder charge that saw Lali taken to the High Court in Garsen, Tana River County, where he was directed to undergo a mental test to prepare him to stand trial.
The DPP had reportedly been under pressure to charge the 52-year-old with murder but he saw his case couldn’t hold due to insufficient evidence.
Apparently Tecra’s family wanted Lali to be pinned for murder because they didn’t approve of the relationship between the Keroche director of strategy and the man who was twice her age.
Lali, a tour guide and a boat operator in Lamu, met Tecra in July, 2019 at Peponi Hotel. She was struck by his “caring and loving personality,” and they became friends and later fell in love.
Tecra at the time needed a shoulder to lean on as she was going through some problems. As their love blossomed, Lali would introduce Tecra to his mother and siblings at their family home in Shela, Lamu.
However, Tecra’s family didn’t approve of their relationship and when she died while with him they pushed for DPP to charge him with murder.
The DPP requested for an open inquest instead of proceeding with the murder case against Lali, and as a result Tecra’s boyfriend Lali was discharged and set at liberty.
Lali showed up at the Milimani law court in Nairobi on Thursday November 11th to follow the proceedings at the ongoing Inquest to establish what caused Tecra Muigai’s death.
During the inquest, government analyst James Matinde, who examined samples extracted from Tecra’s body, said he couldn’t find any toxics nor alcohol traces.
He confirmed receiving six samples from one of the investigating officers of serious crimes, including nail clippings, stomach contents, liver, kidney, blood, bile from the liver, and vitreous humor (extraction from the eye for detecting alcohol content in the body).
“I did not find any toxicological substance which could have contributed to the death of Tecra,” Matinde stated while answering questions from Lali’s lawyer Yusuf Abubakar.
Tecra is said to have fallen and injured herself at the Jaha Guest House in Malindi within Kilifi County on April 24, 2020.
In his statement to police, Lali said that on April 23rd he left Tecra drinking and went to sleep at around 1am, as he had a toothache. He stated that Tecra fell down the staircase when she was walking to join him in the bathroom.
“Omar was woken up by the loud sound when Tecra fell, only to see her lying down unconscious. He then called his brothers and, together, they rushed her to Shela Dispensary,” said the lawyer in a statement that corroborated the one Lali gave to the police.
At the dispensary, she was referred to King Fahad Hospital, where she was taken and a scan done.
When he saw that her condition was getting serious, Lali called Tecra’s mother informing her of what had happened.
The family then arranged for a plane from Amref, which evacuated Tecra from Lamu to Nairobi Hospital where she died on May 2nd.
Lali was among the passengers on the flight to Nairobi and after two days he was taken to a hotel where he stayed until May 2nd when he drove to Lamu in the company of police officers.
“Lali received the news of the death of his lover on May 3, when he was in police custody before he was taken to court and later detained for 21 days,” said his lawyer.
The police insisted Lali pushed Tecra to her death in an argument, a claim which Tecra’s family supported.
But postmortem report was inconclusive to determine the real cause of Tecra’s death – leading to DPP terminating the case and requested an inquest.
Lali is expected to help with the public inquest. If he is linked to the death he will once again be arrested and charged before the court.
The inquest was adjourned to February 23/24, 2022.
Related: DPP Haji Speaks Out On Claims Of Jeopardizing Tecra Muigai’s Murder Probe
