ODM shock as second MP is killed
Published on February 1, 2008, 12:00 am
By Vincent Bartoo And David Ohito
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) was reeling in shock after another MP from its ranks was shot dead in just three days.
The killing of David Kimutai Too of Ainamoi touched off a fresh wave of violence in Kericho, Eldoret, Kisumu and Kakamega and stunned former UN chief Kofi Annan, who ordered a temporary suspension of mediation talks.
It was another dark day for the Orange party — which has had its majority in the House sliced by two MPs — as it soaked another sledgehammer blow.
Too was gunned down in cold blood by a traffic policeman in Eldoret town. A female traffic police officer, Constable Eunice Chepwony, who was in the company of the MP, was also shot and wounded by the same policeman. She died two hours later at Moi University Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH).
With the death coming just four days after another ODM MP, the late Melitus Mugabe Were, was killed in Nairobi, Police Commissioner, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali, moved fast to explain the circumstances of killing, saying initial investigation pointed at what he described as "a crime of passion".
But ODM and the family of the slain officer last night took offence with the attempt to pass off the crime as a love triangle gone sour, even as it emerged that the killer policeman was married with children.
ODM said it was concerned by losing two MPs in 36 hours, and termed yesterday’s killing a political assassination.
Dismissing the love triangle theory, Pentagon member, Mr William Ruto, said the MP was related to the slain policewoman.
"For the Police Commissioner to conclude the cause of death of the MP without conducting investigations is an insult to the intelligence of Kenyans," Ruto said while receiving the body of the MP at Wilson Airport, Nairobi, on Thursday night.
He was accompanied by Deputy Speaker, Mr Farah Maalim, and fellow Pentagon members, Mr Musalia Mudavadi and Mr Joe Nyagah, Ms Jebii Kilimo and several party MPs.
And the elder brother of the slain policewoman, Mr David Kirui, said: "I have known the late MP as a close friend to late Geoffrey Ng’etich, the husband of my sister, and during his burial, the legislator was the master of ceremonies."
The family said the MP and the officer were killed as they viewed a parcel of land in Eldoret town, which the legislator wanted to buy.
And the National Assembly has given the Government a 24-hour ultimatum to provide MPs with round-the-clock security.
Responsible for the killings
Speaking on behalf of House Speaker, Mr Kenneth Marende, his deputy Maalim said the Government would be held responsible for the killings if it failed to provide the MPs with armed guards.
And ODM, in a statement read by Secretary-General, Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o, said: "We deeply regret this event. We condemn it unreservedly. We condole with his family and constituents."
In what seemed to be a mind-boggling coincidence, the news of the MP’s death was received at the ODM headquarters just as party MPs were discussing, among other things, death threats issued to some of them.
Kimutai’s name was top on the list of six MPs allegedly targeted, the ODM Parliamentary Group meeting at Orange House was told.
Other MPs that the party claimed were in the hit list included Ruto, Aldai MP, Dr Sally Kosgey, Kuresoi MP, Mr Zakayo Cheruiyot, Starehe MP, Bishop Margaret Wanjiru, and Kasarani MP, Ms Elizabeth Ongoro.
The meeting was shaken when, at about 11am, news that Too had been shot dead filtered out.
In Eldoret, the Standard team found the lifeless body of the MP slumped on the driver’s seat of a red Toyota Carina saloon car, registration KAZ 965S, at 10.45am, shortly after he was shot.
The body lay in the blood-drenched vehicle dressed in a grey suit, white shirt, red tie and black shoes.
The broad daylight incident at West Indies Estate, about three kilometres from the Eldoret town centre, attracted a huge crowd.
Good Samaritans rushed the shell-shocked and bleeding officer shot alongside Too to the Moi University Teaching and Referral Hospital, but she later succumbed to her injuries.
Doctors said she died of excessive bleeding. According to a witness, Mr Eric Egadwa, the policewoman gasped for breath as she desperately tried to hang on to dear life.
However, she was losing blood rapidly from her stomach and left thigh.
Egadwa said the policewoman, who was reportedly armed, got out of the vehicle, with her hands raised, and tried to plead with the policeman to spare her life.
"He first tried to strangle the policewoman before pulling out his pistol and shooting her twice. He then turned to the car and shot the man (MP) three times," said the witness.
Other witnesses said they heard the policewoman plead: "Haki Mogaka usituuwe. Tafadhali Mogaka usituuwe (Surely, Mogaka, don’t kill us. Please don’t kill us)," before she was shot.
Egadwa said the assailant was dressed in traffic police uniform and was riding a police BMW motorcycle. He sped away after committing the crime.
Motorbike chase in town
Police arrested him hours later. He is expected to appear in court on Friday to answer murder charges.
"When he saw us, he pointed his pistol at us and we scampered for safety. He then rode off and we rushed to the car to help the shot occupants," said the witness.
Added Egadwa: "I thought the man was already dead when I reached the car, but the lady officer was still gasping for breath. We immediately rushed her to hospital."
Uasin Gishu Deputy OCPD, Mr Gabriel Kuya, was among the first officers at the scene and told journalists that the two police officers were lovers.
"The two were friends. The man trailed the car on his motorbike, caught up with them here and shot them," he said at the scene.
There were contradicting reports on how the policeman caught up with the MP and the policewoman. Police said the two had parked the car at the estate and were chatting when they were accosted, while residents said they were driving when their killer caught up with them.
By that time, not even the deputy OCPD, the witnesses and hundreds of curious onlookers were aware that the slain man was an MP.
Initial reports had first indicated that he was a businessman who had been seen in the area in the past.
Colleagues of the officer rushed to the scene and policewomen broke down on seeing the bloodstained vehicle where their colleague, attached to the Eldoret Police Station, was shot.
They said the policewoman was a widow whose husband died last year, while the policeman was a married man with children. The MP also leaves a widow and two children.
Upon arrival at MTRH, the policewoman, who had lost consciousness, was admitted to the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit where she died on the operating table.
While receiving the body at Wilson Airport, Ruto read a political motive to the killings given the slim majority in Parliament.
"All the assassinations going on have a political implication; they cannot scuttle the mediation talks by killing. Blackmail or intimidation or threats will not scare ODM from finding a lasting solution (to the current crisis) and justice," he said.
The MP’s murder sparked riots in Eldoret town and its environs, with hundreds of ODM supporters jamming the MTRH mortuary to view the body.
