Bangladeshi-origin Dutch businessman found dead in Kenya, family alleges murder

A Bangladeshi-origin Dutch citizen has died under mysterious circumstances while travelling in Kenya, with his family alleging he was beaten to death.

Sheikh Mahfuzur Rahman's body was found in a hospital morgue in Bamburi, a town in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, around 20 days after he went missing.

Although the post-mortem report said the businessman died from cardiac failure caused by lack of oxygen, his family claimed there were visible injury marks on his body and accused local authorities of concealing the real cause of death.

His body arrived at Dhaka yesterday morning aboard a cargo flight via Dubai. He was later buried at his ancestral home in Lohagara upazila of Narail after Zohr prayers.

According to family members, Mahfuzur had been living in the Netherlands for many years and frequently travelled across Africa and Europe for business. He had visited Kenya twice before.

He travelled to Kenya on 11 April for business purposes and checked into a hotel in the capital, Nairobi. The family remained in contact with him initially, but all communication stopped after 24 April.

Nearly three weeks later, members of the Bangladeshi community in Kenya traced his body to a morgue at a hospital in Bamburi.

Mahfuzur's brother Mahbubur Rahman told TBS that they first assumed he might have been stranded near the Kenya-Tanzania border due to travel complications.

"We contacted the Kenyan High Commission in Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Bangladesh High Commission in Kenya after failing to reach him. But no one could provide any information," he said.

"When we received no updates, we thought he might have fallen ill and been admitted to a hospital. Later, members of the Bangladeshi community in Kenya located his body at a hospital morgue in Bamburi," he added.

He alleged that Mahfuzur had been physically assaulted before his death. Mahbubur claimed they saw blood stains on his brother's nose, mouth, ears and head through photos and videos sent from Kenya.

"We believe my brother was beaten. But the post-mortem report described it as a natural death. We think the actual cause of death was concealed," he alleged. He also questioned why the post-mortem examination reportedly lasted more than four hours, calling it unusual.

"We suspect evidence was destroyed. Kenyan police said his body was recovered from a rented room. But he was staying at a hotel in Nairobi. We believe he was taken there intentionally," he said.

The family further claimed several valuables were missing after his death.

According to Mahbubur, his brother had travelled to Kenya to finalise a car business deal and was carrying a large amount of money. He also regularly wore gold jewellery, including bracelets, chains and rings, none of which were recovered. "We suspect he was killed in a planned robbery," he said.

Mahfuzur's home was in Lohagara, Narail, while his family currently lives in Gazipur. He was married to a Moroccan woman, who lives in Morocco.

Mahbubur said his brother had planned to travel from Kenya to Tanzania before returning to the Netherlands and later visiting Bangladesh during Eid. "Everything is over now. We want justice for his death," he said.

Harun Or Rashid, an administrative official at the Bangladesh embassy in Kenya, confirmed that the family had filed a missing complaint after Mahfuzur went out of contact.

"We informed Kenya's diplomatic police, who later forwarded the matter to the tourist police. His body was eventually found at a local hospital," he told TBS. "It is true that there was blood on his face and red marks on his head. Initially, we also suspected it might have been a murder," he added.

However, he said the post-mortem report concluded that Mahfuzur died due to oxygen deprivation. Samples from different parts of the body have since been collected for further forensic testing.

Rashid said investigators were also examining whether the victim may have been subjected to slow poisoning. "The matter is under investigation by Kenyan police. For now, we arranged to send the body back to Bangladesh following the family's request," he added.