Pupil in Siaya blindfolded before being murdered

Siaya Police taking the body of a school pupil found dumped in a food kiosk next to Siaya Mosque.

Photo credit: Kassim Adinasi | Nation Media Group.

Siaya town today woke up to the news of the gruesome murder of a school pupil, whose body was found dumped near a mosque.

The boy was found blindfolded and his limbs tied up.

Ms Salome Atieno, an eyewitness, said the body was spotted by traders early in the morning.

“At first when we spotted the body in the morning, we suspected that maybe the pupil was drunk and sleeping. But when we got closer, we saw that the body was lifeless with the eyes covered with a cloth and the legs and hands tied up,” she said.

She added: “We suspect that he was killed elsewhere and the body dumped here because the security lights in the shops around have been vandalised.”

The child was yet to be identified, though he was wearing a school uniform resembling that of Siaya Township Primary School. Police took the body to the Siaya County Referral Hospital mortuary.

Siaya sub-county Police Commander Benedict Mwangangi confirmed the incident and said investigations had started.

The incident comes barely two weeks after the mutilated body of a Form Two student was found dumped near the family’s shop three days after he was kidnapped from there. His eyes had been gouged out.

Clerics concerned by the insecurity

The Siaya Inter-Religious Caucus last week called on the police to fast-track the investigations into suspicious deaths that have become common in the county.

The caucus, made up mainly of the clerics, lamented that justice had eluded the families of the murdered people.

Bishop James Opiyo, the chair of the caucus, said police were doing little to solve the cases.

They also asked about the fate of suspects arrested with crude weapons and hand grenades during ODM primaries in Gem sub- county.

“The people were arrested in possession of hand grenades in Gem and it was all over in the media. We have waited for them to be brought to court but nothing has happened. This is setting a bad precedent in Siaya County,” said Bishop Wilfred Amolo.  

He added: “Nobody is aware of what happened to the suspects or the crude weapons that they were [found] in possession of. We need to be serious about some things.”

The caucus urged young people to practise restraint during political campaigns and avoid being misused by the politicians.