Kuria Kimani, a member of parliament for Molo, made his first public appearance in Molo months after he was accused of masterminding the savage murder of Richard Otieno, also known as Molo President.
Following the huge unrest that shook his constituency following Otieno’s death, Kuria reappeared at a “Huduma Mashinani” drive in his Molo backyard.
After watching a football game, Otieno was brutally murdered by unidentified intruders close to his home in Elburgon, Nakuru. He died from significant head injuries caused by a sharp object, according to an autopsy.
Johansen Oduor, a government pathologist, said the sharp object might have been an axe or a panga. On Saturday, January 18, the late Otieno was murdered following an attack that took place about 200 meters from Elburgon Police Station.
Otieno told his wife that he was a marked man for his criticism of local leadership and President William Ruto’s administration, and that he had reportedly lived in constant fear for his life as a result of his activism.
Otieno’s troubles started during the anti-government demonstrations in June of last year, when he was detained on suspicion of participating in the destruction of Molo Member of Parliament Kuria Kimani’s house.
Following the assassination, there were rumors that Kuria and other influential local figures were involved in his death. Kuria has never, however, made any public remarks about the issue.
In response to Otieno’s death, angry locals staged a series of protests, blocking the Njoro-Molo route with rocks and setting bonfires.
In a display of passion and fury, the irate locals invaded the mortuary where the body was being kept and paraded it through the streets.
Five suspects were apprehended by police from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) after the murder.
DCI disclosed in a statement that two of the five suspects were boda boda riders who transported them to and from the crime scene, while the other three were the real criminals.
The detectives have been urged by Otieno’s family to move quickly to solve the murder’s deeper mystery.
