Autopsy reveals what killed Tom Osinde
The late National Treasury official Tom Fred Mokaya Osinde, whose body was identified on Thursday in a mortuary in Migori County, lived reclusively in the upmarket Ngata estate on the outskirts of Nakuru City.
Former Treasury staff Fred Tom Mokaya Osinde was slashed to death, Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor said on Friday.
The chief pathologist said Mr Osinde was slashed on his head twice with one cut going through the back of his head and severing the spinal cord at the level of C7.
The C7 segment of the spinal cord bears the primary load from the weight of the head and supports the lower part of the neck.
The other cut went through the right side of the head and fractured the skull with injury to the brain.
Dr Oduor spoke to Nation.Africa at the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital Mortuary after conducting a three-hour-long postmortem.
“What killed him was two blows to his head with injury to the brain,” said Dr Oduor.
The pathologist added, “He doesn’t look like someone who resisted so much, because we did not see any defensive injuries. We are trying to investigate why he did not resist too much. Was he drugged? Was he threatened? Was he caught unawares…”
The pathologist said they had taken samples from Mr Osinde's body for further analysis to determine whether he was under the influence of some drugs before he was murdered.
Immediately after Dr Oduor completed the postmortem, Mr Osinde’s body was transferred to Nakuru for preservation awaiting burial at his Nakuru home.
The postmortem report will aid detectives who are probing the murder of Mr Osinde in their investigations.
The motive of the horrendous murder is yet to be established, but police sources familiar with the investigations revealed that among their leads are details about bank deposits and withdrawals, the deceased phones, CCTV, satellite images, car track details, fingerprint dusting and live witness accounts.
Mr Osinde was traveling from his Nakuru residence to his rural home in Borabu, Nyamira County when he went missing on Sunday June 18, 2023.
His badly decomposed body was found Thursday, June 22, 2023 at Kanga area, Rongo, at the banks of River Kuja.
At the time the body was found, it was swollen and difficult to tell the identity. It was dressed in a black vest and a brown t-shirt. The rest of the body was naked. There was a metallic-gold ring on its left ring finger, police informed.
Police from Rongo Police station took it to the Migori Referral Hospital mortuary where it lay unidentified for seven days, even as his family frantically searched for him.
Mr Osinde's brother Enock Nemwel Osinde positively identified the body on Wednesday this week.
Outside the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital Mortuary, relatives who had gone to witness the postmortem and who have since this incident declined to address the media cursed and mourned the killing of their kin, claiming there must have been more than one person involved in the killing.
The relatives wailed with some of them being heard saying, “they killed him in the most gruesome manner. Why didn’t you (the killers) not spare his life....”
“Only God will judge and never give those who killed Tom any peace. We have asked ourselves endless questions for the whole week but now these are the answers...!” mumbled a female relative.
“What kind of death did he undergo? How did he cry? Did he cry? How much did he plead before he finally breathed his last? Was there anyone to hear how he screamed for help? Did Tom scream and plead for mercy before he died?” asked the relative.
Mr Osinde is a brother to the late Ken Osinde, the former Chief of Staff in the office of Deputy President William Ruto (now President).
Ken also served as Kenya's Ambassador to Germany from 2010 to 2014, before becoming Chief of Staff at the Harambee House Annex. He died in a Nairobi hospital on December 10, 2021 after a brief illness.
Tom Osinde lived reclusively in the upmarket Ngata estate on the outskirts of Nakuru City.
The late Osinde had a taste for finer things in life: He drove a Toyota Land Cruiser 300, and his imposing house sat on 10 acres on the high-end Nakuru estate.
Having retired recently, Osinde's home in Ngata was the perfect place for him to stay, sharing the palatial house with his workers and occasionally venturing out on errands.
A coordinated team of detectives Wednesday arrested two of Osinde's farm workers at his Ongata Rongai- Nakuru home, from where he went missing.
The two, Julius Mogoi and Mugo Gathii spoke to journalists on Sunday and indicated that they were appalled by Osinde's disappearance.
Detectives led by Donnata Otieno Wednesday combed Osinde's farm, interviewed workers and held the two of them for further interrogation.
The vehicle belonging to Mr Osinde was on Saturday identified by his family at Kilgoris Police station, Narok County.
The black Land cruiser car was found abandoned at Ilpashire along the Sikawa-Enoosaen road on Thursday June 22, 2023.
The number plate of the car was missing, battery and the radio, in a suspected vandalism. Some documents were found in the car.
There were also blood stains inside the vehicle.
There are reports that Mogoi (one of the arrested workers) was seen driving Osinde’s car two days before it was found abandoned in Trans Mara West.
Those who knew Osinde say the former National Treasury official's public appearances were limited to his circle of friends.
His last public appearance was on May 3, 2023, at the burial of a former senior security officer at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Livingstone Kipkoech Ruto, held within the Ngata estate.
Osinde attended the University of Nairobi, where he studied economics. After graduating, he spent years working for the Ministry of Finance.
Known for his expertise in financial management, he recently retired from the Treasury before venturing into business.
