TITLE:
Gender, Alcohol Intoxication and Homicide, in Nairobi County, Kenya: Autopsy Study
AUTHORS:
Peter Wangai Kiama
KEYWORDS:
Alcohol Intoxication, Autopsy, Homicides, Gender, Nairobi, Kenya
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.9 No.7,
July
18,
2022
ABSTRACT: Background: Violence causing fatal trauma to the body, the commonest cause of unnatural death, is a preventable leading global public health problem. Violent deaths are categorized as those due to homicide, accidents or suicide. These deaths could result from gunshots, blunt injuries or mob justice. However, It has been positively correlated with alcohol intoxication. Objective: To determine the relationship of gender, alcohol intoxication and homicide, in Nairobi County, Kenya. Methods: This was a descriptive prospective study carried out at Nairobi City Council Mortuary, Nairobi, Kenya between June 1 2009 and May 31 2010. All the bodies that fulfilled the criteria of violent fatal outcomes were included. Bodies were categorized by gender and divided into 10 age groups of 10 years each. A complete forensic autopsy examination was done on each. Data were entered on a preformatted data sheet and analyzed using IBM statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 11. Results: A total of 2566 autopsy cases were reported between June 1 2009 and May 31 2010. A majority, 1154 (47.3%) of the deaths were due to homicide, 1064 (43.6%) accidents, and 224 (9.1%) suicide. Out of the 400 study subjects randomly selected from the 2566 autopsies studied for alcohol levels, 105 (26.3%) were found to have alcohol in the vitreous humor. Ninety-six (91.4%) had died violently, 38 (39.5%) homicide, accidents 50 (52.1%), and suicide 8 (8.3%). Homicide victims that were intoxicated, 36 were males (94.7%) and 2 were females (5.3%), A p-value of 0.03 (95% confidence interval) was found when the data was analyzed using an F-test. This was a statistically significant difference (p = 0.03) between homicide and alcohol intoxication. Conclusions: A causal role exists between male gender, alcoholic intoxication and the liability to die a homicidal death.