Fresh concerns are now emerging over how Kenyan authorities handled the disappearance and identification of 36-year-old Dutch-Bangladeshi tourist Sheikh Mahfuzur Rahman Emon, whose body was reportedly kept at Coast General Hospital mortuary for nearly 20 days before his family finally received confirmation of his death.
Now, the victim’s brother, a doctor from Bangladesh, is openly questioning the competence, transparency and seriousness of the investigation, arguing that modern technology should have made identification and tracing of the deceased almost immediate.
In an emotional statement shared after the family confirmed Emon’s death, the brother expressed shock that a foreign national could allegedly remain unidentified for weeks in a country with access to modern immigration systems, biometric registration and digital surveillance tools.
“As a doctor, I have travelled to many countries including Singapore and Malaysia. Everywhere, fingerprints and retina scans are taken for international travellers,” he said.
He questioned how Kenyan authorities allegedly failed to quickly identify the deceased despite the existence of biometric data collected during international travel.
“In today’s world, if someone dies without documents, fingerprints and retina scans alone can confirm identity. Technology today is advanced enough for that,” he stated.
The family’s frustrations appear to go beyond identification delays alone.
The brother also raised disturbing concerns regarding inconsistencies surrounding the reported condition of the body. According to him, photographs allegedly showed visible injuries on the head, yet police reportedly downplayed the situation by describing only minor injuries on the hand.
“What is even more concerning is that visible injuries on the head could be seen in photographs while police reportedly stated there were only minor marks on the hand,” he said.
Such contradictions, he argued, naturally fuel suspicion and public doubt about the integrity of the investigation.
The family is now questioning whether authorities fully utilized available investigative technologies capable of reconstructing Emon’s final movements after arriving in Kenya.
According to the brother, once fingerprints linked the deceased to passport and immigration records, investigators should have been able to retrace his movements from the airport step by step using CCTV systems, transport tracking and digital forensic analysis.
“Airport CCTV footage could identify who received him, who accompanied him, which vehicle he entered and where he travelled afterward,” he explained.
The family also believes mobile phone forensics should provide crucial answers. The brother pointed out that IMEI tracking technology can reveal which devices were used, which SIM cards were inserted and who the deceased communicated with before his death.
“Investigators can analyze call records and digital activity to build a clearer timeline,” he stated.
The remarks now place additional pressure on Kenyan authorities already facing growing scrutiny over the handling of foreign tourist deaths and disappearances within the country.
The tragic case has also triggered wider debate online about the state of investigations, forensic capacity and transparency within Kenya’s law enforcement system, especially when dealing with foreign nationals.
Critics argue that in an era of biometric immigration systems, digital surveillance, mobile tracking and advanced forensic tools, it should not take nearly three weeks for authorities to identify a foreign visitor whose entry into the country was officially recorded.
The family further noted that international cooperation through digital platforms can often assist investigators in tracing communication records linked to messaging applications and online activity where necessary.
“With the technology available today, identifying a person and tracing their last movements should not be impossible if a proper and transparent investigation is conducted,” the brother added.
For the grieving family, however, the biggest pain now remains unanswered questions.
How did a man who travelled to Kenya for vacation end up dead in Mombasa?
Who was with him during his final days?
Why did it allegedly take nearly 20 days to establish his identity?
And most importantly, was every available investigative tool truly used to uncover the truth?
As pressure continues mounting, the family says it now wants more than condolences. They want accountability, transparency and a full explanation regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of a man who left home for holiday but never returned alive.
