Death, shootings and disappearances as Kenyans awaited presidential poll results
El Toro in Embakasi, Nairobi. Slain IEBC returning officer Daniel Mbolu Musyoka is said to have been seen at the joint before he went missing and his body found in Loitoktok in Kajiado.
Shootings, death, mysterious disappearances and arrests marred the just-concluded elections as Kenyans quickly returned to their normal lives before and after the result of the presidential election was announced.
The family of returning officer for Embakasi East constituency, Mr Daniel Musyoka, is still mourning him. He went missing on August 11, and his body was found in Loitoktok, Kajiado County, four days later.
Yesterday, homicide detectives on the case told the Saturday Nation that they are seeking to unravel the identity of a woman who talked to Mr Musyoka at an entertainment joint in Tassia in Embakasi and a mysterious caller at 3pm on the day he disappeared.
The Nation has learnt that Mr Musyoka, who was posted to the constituency in April ahead of the elections, was lured by a person familiar to him to walk out of the tallying centre.
In a CCTV footage that is likely to give a lead to the detectives, Mr Musyoka can be seen having a conversation with a lady in front of an entertainment joint in El Toro, Tassia. The place is just a few metres from the exit gate that the IEBC official used to leave the tallying centre.
He is also said to have met with one of his clerks at the place. His last phone signal was tracked to Mihango before it was switched off. He is said to have called someone through a WhatsApp call with whom they had a short conversation before the phone went dead.
Missing person
Embakasi sub-county police commander Masai Makau said the case had already been moved to Loitoktok where his body was found. Thus, the only case they were handling was that of a missing person.
Meanwhile, in Eldas constituency, a presiding officer, Mr Mohamed Kanyare, was shot by unknown persons on election day and has had his leg amputated. Mr Kanyare was the presiding officer of Towheed polling centre in Elnur/Tula Tula ward.
At the Bomas of Kenya, two staff members of IEBC were picked up by people claiming to be police officers on August 14. For close to nine hours, no one knew where Gideon Balang, tin charger in charge of electoral operations and his driver Julian Radiro were. They were later released without being charged and no reason being offered for their arrest.
IEBC CEO Hussein Marjan did not respond to our queries yesterday about the arrests but chairman Wafula Chebukati had on Thursday bemoaned the harassment of members and staff of the commission.
“The commission is concerned that some of its critical staff who objectively and impartially performed their duties at the National Tallying Centre are being intimidated and harassed through profiling and/or arbitrary arrests. This has instilled fear within the staff, who are now unable to report to the office for duty. This harassment must stop forthwith,” said Mr Chebukati.
The National Tallying Centre also experienced chaos on Monday the day the IEBC declared the presidential results leading to Mr Chebukati, commissioners Prof Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu, and Mr Marjan being evacuated.
Mr Chebukati used the cases of alleged harassment of the commission members and staff as the basis for postponing the elections for governor in Kakamega and Mombasa counties, among other electoral areas where polls had been postponed due to mix-up of ballot papers.
In Bungoma County, Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa remains in custody as investigations into the shooting to death of Brian Olunga, an aide of the legislator’s rival in the just-concluded elections .
Police were granted 10 days from Tuesday to conduct investigations.
Meanwhile, an ODM politician who mysteriously disappeared from her Nanyuki Town home in Laikipia County on Wednesday has been found safely in Nairobi.
Ms Hawa Yusuf, the county ODM coordinator had left her phone in the house, saying she was visiting a neighbour at 11am but never returned, raising anxiety among family members and friends. After failing to locate her, the family reported the matter at the Nanyuki Police Station and an investigation was initiated.
On Friday, Laikipia DCI boss Onesmus Towett confirmed that Ms Yusuf had been found in Runda Estate, Nairobi.
“She was found by the roadside in Runda Estate looking somehow confused. She was taken to Runda Police Station where she recorded a statement,” Mr Towett told the Nation.
The DCI boss said he had dispatched a vehicle to bring her back to Nanyuki in an effort to establish circumstances under which she disappeared for two days.
Found alive
Her husband, Mr Issak Yusuf, confirmed that his wife has been found alive and safe in Nairobi.
“She is currently being attended to by medics at a hospital along Juja Road in Nairobi where she was brought by an ambulance from Runda Police Station. Though she can speak now, I have not asked her what transpired since she appears traumatised,” Mr Yusuf said. He added that after positively identifying his wife via a photo sent through WhatsApp, he travelled to Nairobi arriving at 10am.
“The boda boda operator said he found her by the roadside in Runda Estate. She was shivering, had no shoes and was talking incoherently at first but later managed to give out my phone number. That is how I learnt she had been found alive and I instructed him to take her to the nearest police station,” explained Mr Yusuf.
He added that the family was eagerly awaiting for her to be discharged from hospital so that she can explain if it was a case of kidnap.
By Walter Menya, Ndubi Moturi, Nicholas Komu and Mwangi Ndirangu
