‘I was hired to kill Tom Osinde at his Nakuru home’, prime suspect Julius Mogoi tells police

According to a senior detective at the centre of the murder probe, investigators found blood stains in his house.

"We found blood stains in one of Osinde's houses where, according to his associates, he liked to spend his free time. The curtains and some clothes in the house had blood stains. We also found empty liquor bottles and food in the house," said the detective.

"Someone tried to clean the house after the murder to conceal evidence," the detective added.

In what appears to have been a well-planned and executed murder, his killers used a polythene bag and some clothes to carefully wrap his head to conceal details of their heinous act.

Read: Tom Osinde murder: Police say multiple assailants involved in the crime

"His assailants used a sharp object to slash his head before wrapping it in a polythene bag. They also used the back door to remove his body from the house, avoiding the main gate, which was guarded by one of his workers," the detective added.

And true to the words of American novelist Patricia Highsmith..."There is no perfect murder...there is always a trail of evidence left behind and it only requires a sleuth with the proficiency of a Sherlock Holmes (the fictional British detective) to unearth it...Osinde's killers left the blood-stained polythene bag on the banks of the Gucha River.

Blood samples

Detectives say an analysis of the blood samples from the polythene bag and the curtains match those of the slain former Treasury official.

Although his posh house in Ngata - still under construction - had no CCTV cameras, investigators were able to reconstruct the scene of the murder.

Read: Inside the reclusive life of slain Treasury ex-official, Tom Osinde

As detectives from the homicide department and the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) burn the midnight oil to unravel the circumstances surrounding the murder and the motive for the killing, it is now emerging that Mr Julius Mogoi, the prime suspect, may have been hired by unknown persons to commit the murder.

"Mogoi has revealed to senior investigators that he was approached to commit the murder, but he has not given any further details about the  people who hired him and his accomplices," revealed a highly placed source at the centre of the investigation.

The latest revelations have now raised crucial questions about the murder. Who wanted Osinde dead and why? Was he a victim of a deal gone sour? What was the motive for the murder?

At his Ngata residence, Osinde lived in one of the rooms of the mansion which is still under construction.

There is also a small house in the compound where his workers say he used to relax as he enjoyed his favourite drinks.

"He loved spending time in the small house where he liked to drink and relax. The mansion is incomplete and it only served as his bedroom.  The small house also served as a kitchen," revealed Mr Jacob Khaemba, the caretaker of Osinde's home.

It has also emerged that after the murder, his killer(s) fuelled his vehicle at Rubis petrol station on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.

Detectives are still analysing the CCTV cameras at the petrol station to understand who was behind the wheel and any other occupants of Osinde's vehicle at the time.

Faulty cameras

"The CCTV cameras were a bit faulty but they have been repaired and we have handed over the backup hard drive for analysis to establish who refuelled the vehicle and who the occupants were," revealed a petrol station attendant.

"Mzee was not an outgoing person. He could order his drinks from Nakuru City and enjoy them in the house. He had converted part of one of the houses into a mini-bar from where he would enjoy his drinks," Mr Khaemba told Nation.Africa.

"When Osinde was not in Nakuru, he was either in Nairobi or at his rural home in Nyamira County. He preferred to live a quiet life," says Khaemba.

But his farm manager, Mr Khaemba, who is not in custody, revealed that his boss had never expressed any fears for his life before his death.

"We were very close to Mzee. But he never expressed any fears for his life," revealed Mr Khaemba, who worked for Osinde for eight years.

And as investigations into the murder intensify, detectives say preliminary investigations have placed Mr Osinde's farm hand - Mogoi, who hails from South Mugirango constituency in Kisii County - at the scene of the murder, amid claims he confessed to senior officers to committing the murder. 

"We are holding two of Osinde's associates, including a casual worker, Julius Mogoi, whom we are treating as the mastermind of the killing," revealed a senior detective.

According to detectives, Mr Mogoi allegedly revealed to detectives the scene of the crime at River Kuja in Migori County, where the body was dumped.

Detectives believe the farmhand may have committed the crime at Osinde's Ngata home, along with others before they dumped the body in River Kuja.

When Mr Osinde's decomposing body was recovered from River Kuja in Migori, a source said it had a deep cut on the head and his hands and legs were tied, also suggesting there may have been more than one killer.

More arrests

"We are still interrogating the two and so far they are giving us useful information about Mr Osinde's murder," revealed Rongai Sub-County Criminal Investigations Officer, Ms Donatta Atieno.

Ms Atieno also revealed earlier that detectives had discovered that two power switches on the upper staircase of his Ngata home had been vandalised and were trying to establish whether they were damaged before or after he went missing.

Among those believed to have assisted Mogoi in the murder is one of his friends who had visited him in Ngata on several occasions.

Police also believe that the friend was the 'mystery' person who was seen driving Mr Osinde's vehicle from his Ngata home before he went missing.

Neighbours and friends believe that Mr Osinde's killers may have wanted to access his bank accounts and steal some of his property.

"I believe that Osinde's murder was carefully planned and his killers were most likely after some of his wealth, including money," revealed a neighbour.

Read: Ex-Treasury official Tom Mokaya missing, his car found vandalised

A family source also said that Mr Osinde had never said that his life was in danger.

"Osinde was enjoying his retirement and never reported any threat to any police station or anyone. He served diligently at the Ministry of Finance and was enjoying his retirement peacefully," the source said.

Osinde's decomposing body was recovered in Migori County where his family led by his brother Enock Nemwel Osinde positively identified it, ending weeks of frantic search for the former Treasury official.

It has also emerged that the body recovered from Kuja River in Migori, had been lying in a mortuary for a week as the family searched for their loved one.

Having retired about a year ago, Mr Osinde's home in Ngata was the perfect place for him to live. He shared his mansion with his workers. 

The former Treasury official's public appearances were limited to his circle of friends and his last appearance was at the burial of another senior security officer at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Livingstone Kipkoech Ruto on May 3, 2023, where he spoke on behalf of Ngata elders.

"He preferred a quiet life," said a neighbour.

Another neighbour said Mr Osinde rarely went out to social places in Nakuru.

"He preferred to stay on his farm and occasionally attended social events like the funerals of his neighbours. In fact, during the burial of the late Livingstone Kipkoech Ruto, when he represented the Ngata elders in eulogising the deceased, some neighbours said they did not know him," the neighbour said.

But others, like former President Daniel arap Moi's press secretary Lee Njiru, described the late former Treasury official as a respected Ngata elder.

"He was a highly respected man and had earned enough respect among the people of Ngata. That he was allowed to speak during the late Mzee Ruto's funeral shows his pedigree," Mr Njiru told Nation.Africa.

Those who knew him personally are yet to come to terms with his death, with one social media user remarking: "May his killers never know peace...very saddened by his death." 

At his sprawling farm in Ngata, the late Osinde practised mixed farming and enjoyed the company of his workers.  He reared dairy cows and other animals on his 10-acre farm in Ngata.

Osinde attended the University of Nairobi, where he studied economics.

After graduating, he worked for the Ministry of Finance for several years as a senior official in the office of the Principal Secretary.

Financial management

Known for his expertise in financial management, he retired from the Treasury about a year ago before venturing into private business.

He was a brother of the late Ambassador Ken Osinde, the former Chief of Staff in the Office of Deputy President William Ruto (now President).

Osinde also served as Kenya's ambassador to Germany between 2010 and 2014, before becoming chief of staff at Harambee House Annex.

He died in a Nairobi hospital in October 2021 after a brief illness. Other siblings include; Nemwel Enoch Osinde.

However, little is known about Osinde's immediate family, including his two wives and children. 

Until his death, Osinde lived at his Ngata home with his workers Julius Mogoi and Jacob Khaemba.

At the time Mr Osinde went missing, according to a family source, he was expected to travel from his Ngata residence in Nakuru to his rural home in Borabu, Nyamira County.

Detectives say Mr Mogoi arrived at their home in South Mugirango, Kisii County, on the night of June 18, 2023, while driving his boss' car.

Immediately after dumping his lifeless body in the river, Mr Mogoi allegedly drove to his home in Nyakeo, South Mugirango, Kisii County. 

This was the first time the suspect was seen at their home in three years. He had fled home after he allegedly tried to kill his mother with a machete.

Nation.Africa has established that Mr Mogoi is also a suspect in another murder that occurred about three years ago.

It is not clear how he secured his freedom before leaving Kisii to work at Osinde's Ngata home. Police say Osinde's car will undergo forensic tests to establish the last person to use it. 

Vehicle abandoned

A detective told Nation.Africa that when the vehicle was abandoned at IIpashire along the Sikawa-Enoosaen road in Trans Mara West, Narok County, there was an attempt to set it on fire, but this failed.

The car had blood stains in the back seat, a sign that Mr Osinde may have been killed elsewhere before his assailants used the vehicle to transport his body to River Kuja. The car's number plates, battery and radio were missing. 

Some documents were also found in the car and are now being used by detectives in the ongoing investigation into his murder.

The car's battery and number plate were later recovered from Mogoi's home in Kisii County.

Investigators believe that the vehicle was abandoned in Kilgoris by Mr Mogoi after removing its registration number plates.

"He (Mogoi) was seen in his village on the same evening that we believe the body of the deceased was thrown into Kuja River," said a detective attached to the DCI.

The suspect later returned to Ngata where he worked as a farm hand and was seen going about his normal duties until he was arrested.

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