Clement Munyao, a death row inmate at Kamiti Maximum Prison found a new calling that inspires him to have hope and belief in the future.
The convict, a neurosurgeon, is serving a life sentence after he was found guilty of murder. Munyao's link to the death of Moses Gituma, a senior official at the Central Bank of Kenya, was possession of a mobile phone stolen from the murder scene.
At Kamiti, Munyao acted as a consultant and paralegal and refuted reports that he was a quack doctor. To prove his assertions, the inmate showcased his certificates and a detailed curriculum vitae.
He also walks around parading a tag attached to his orange sweater. "Dr Munyao - Paralegal" it reads.
"I am a medical practitioner who graduated from Nairobi University in 1980 with a Bachelor in Medicine and Surgery. I then graduated with Masters in Human Medicine and Pathology at the same university in 1987 and a Masters in Forensic Medicine in Scotland in 1991.
"Being in the paralegal aids me to practice medicine," the family man defended himself, adding that he offers professional advice and treats patients too.
The convict and four others including Gituma's wife, Janet Karamana, were accused of plotting and orchestrating the murder of the civil servant. Karamana was further accused of hiring hitmen to murder the husband at Nairobi’s Garden Estate.
Detectives linked the case to a row over Ksh45 million benefits from the CBK, payable to the next of kin. Karamana allegedly wanted to benefit from the said amount.
In 2009, Munyao was sentenced to 30 years in jail and his decision to appeal the case four years later failed after he failed to prove his innocence and was sentenced to hang.
Munyao argued that he purchased the phone from a shamba boy in Gigiri, Nairobi, but could not reveal the identity of the seller.
The neurosurgeon recalled that he gifted his daughter the phone prior to detectives tracking them. The daughter argued that the father wasn't a criminal as alleged but a doctor at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).
His tribulations began, a run-in with the law, seeking representation from defence attorneys to losing his freedom. What pained him the most was that KNH denounced him.
Florence Nduki Mutiso, an employee of Kenyatta National Hospital since 1981 and the head of Human Resources testified stating that Munyao was a liar and imposter.
"Mutiso maintains records of all employees. She categorically testified that the code for Kenyatta National Hospital starts with 52 or 53. She confirmed that the said hospital does not have personal number 314316 (as claimed by Munyao).
"She denied that Clement Munyao Katiku was an employee of Kenyatta National Hospital at any given time. That personal number 314316 is fake and casual workers were not given personal numbers," court papers read.
Munyao in a recent interview, however, lamented that he was betrayed by his own employer.
"For the 25 years I operated on patients at KNH, no death was ever reported. None at all," he insisted in a recent interview.
