Fresh questions surrounding the death of gospel singer Betty Bayo have prompted the Director of Public Prosecutions to order a new investigation, barely a month after the artist was laid to rest. The move comes after her family formally challenged the account given about how she died.
Through a letter issued on Tuesday, the DPP instructed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to reopen the case and examine the circumstances that led to the singer’s death. Detectives were directed to complete the probe and submit their report to the prosecution within seven days.
The renewed investigation was triggered by a complaint filed on December 9 by the singer’s mother, Joyce Wairimu. In her letter, she asked the DPP to initiate an inquest, saying the events leading to her daughter’s death were unclear and had left the family with many unanswered questions.
Betty Bayo, born Beatrice Wairimu Mbugua, died on November 10, 2025, while admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital. At the time, the public was informed by a family spokesperson, who appeared alongside her husband Hiram Gitau, that the 11th Hour singer had died after battling leukaemia.
Wairimu disputed that account in her petition, stating that her daughter had not shown signs of serious illness before being hospitalised. She told the DPP that the death occurred suddenly and that the family suspects there may have been foul play.
Concerns were also raised over how matters were handled after Bayo’s death. According to her mother, the family was never allowed to see the autopsy report, and the burial was conducted quickly, raising fears that important details may have been concealed.
The complaint further accused hospital officials and other parties of blocking access to medical records and information on the care Bayo received before she died. Wairimu said the lack of openness has only deepened the family’s doubts and strengthened their demand for an independent probe.
