THE DEATH OF ROBERT OUKO.
A Thread 👇🏾
A Thread 👇🏾
Robert Ouko served in the government of Kenya from the colonial period through the presidencies of Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi. He was once a foreign minister during those periods, until 1990. He also served as a member of parliament for Kisumu Rural Constituency
He was murdered in Kenya on 13 February 1990. The murder case, perhaps the most intriguing in Kenyan history, remains unsolved
On the night of 12/13 February 1990, Ouko disappeared from his Koru Farm complex near Muhoroni. His housemaid Selina Were Ndalo testified that she "was awakened at about 3 am by a noise similar to a door being slammed shut but sufficiently loud enough to startle her awake"
and that she saw a white car turning at the bottom of the minister's driveway before driving away.
His body was found by a local herdsman at a place called Got Alila, just 2.8 km from his home in Koru, Kisumu County. His body was burnt, had a gunshot wound in the head and his right foot was broken twice.
News about his murder then spread across the entire nation. This evoked an array of emotions among Kenyans. Majority of Kenyans were stupefied by the mysterious murder and they demanded answers from the government.
Consequently, investigations into Ouko's murder began in earnest. Scotland Yard's Private Investigative officer, John Trunn, was hired to accomplish this. Moreover, Hezekiah Oyugi, the then minister for internal security and Philip Mule, the police commissioner, were also to see
to it that the murder investigations were carried out effectively.
Shortly into the Murder investigations, some few names had started to be mentioned. These names ironically included Hezekiah Oyugi, the one who was also in charge of the murder investigations.
The others were Daniel Arap Moi and Nicholas Biwott.
However, when the report about the investigations was tabled in parliament, the law makers disputed it for lack of enough evidence. Some of the people who mentioned in the report mysteriously began to disappear.
It is also worth noting that the then police commissioner, Philip Mule Kilonzo was a threat to the Murder suspects as he seemed to know so much information about the murder of Robert Ouko.
Consequently, he lived a very careful life. He was always watching his back as his life was in danger. His adequate police training ensured that he was safe for some period of time but not long enough. It was due to some human error that he was murdered on July 29, 1997 at a bar
in Machakos. He had went outside shortly and during that time it's believed that his drink may have been laised with poison which led to his mysterious death after falling unconscious.
A key witness into the murder of Robert Ouko had also been murdered. The people who were in that bar on that fateful day also died afterwards under mysterious circumstances.
Even Hezekiah Oyugi, the then minister for internal security who was a key suspect in the murder case was murdered under unexplainable circumstances.
On the side, Robert Ouko's Murder was still unsolved.Initial police reports suggested that Ouko had committed suicide but it became known that Ouko had also been shot as well as burnt. The suicide theory seemed an absurd suggestion, hinting perhaps at a cover-up attempt.
Public pressure led President Daniel arap Moi to ask British detectives from New Scotland Yard to investigate Ouko's death. It is this report that came up with the names of the key suspects including former president, Daniel Arap Moi.
The investigations were later on closed down and forgotten about.
However, later on when Kibaki's government came into power a new investigation into the Ouko murder was to be conducted by a parliamentary select committee.
The Select Committee, however, did not complete its work. It was disbanded in 2005 on the grounds of 'interference' in its deliberations just as Nicholas Biwott was beginning his testimony to it.
Until today, Robert Ouko's murder still remains a mystery
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