Foul play suspected in Botswana student’s death

Police are conducting investigations into the “mysterious” death of a third year engineering student from Botswana who was found dead by his roommates on Friday afternoon. The student, who was identified by friends as Toremba Mbeumuna, 26, was found unconscious in a bedroom at his apartment at the corner of Sellier and Fraser streets in Curepe at 5 pm. Mbeumuna, a chemical engineering student at the University of the West Indies, was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Investigators said that although his friends claimed to have found his body around 5 pm, they contacted authorities two hours later. Although Mbeumuna’s body bore no visible marks of violence, senior police officers said that foul play is suspected due to variations in the witness statements they received. The Botswana Embassy located in Miami, Florida, was contacted by investigators and a representative was scheduled to arrive in Trinidad last night to contact the victim’s relatives and assist with funeral arrangements. 

A post-mortem is expected to be conducted this week at the Forensic Science Centre in St James. Inspector Baptiste, Sgt Vetus Hernandez and PC Hall all of the St Joseph CID are probing Mbeumuna’s death.