Molo Member of Parliament Kuria Kimani made his first public appearance in Molo months after the brutal murder of prominent Molo activist Richard Otieno, alias Molo President, which he was accused of orchestrating.
Kuria was at a “Huduma Mashinani” drive in his Molo backyard, resurfacing after the widespread unrest that rocked his constituency in the wake of Otieno’s demise.
Otieno was brutally murdered by unknown assailants near his home in Elburgon, in Nakuru, after watching a game of football. An autopsy later revealed that he died of severe head injuries inflicted by a sharp object.
According to government pathologist Johansen Oduor, the sharp object could either have been a panga or an axe. The late Otieno’s murder happened on Saturday, January 18, after an attack just 200 meters from Elburgon Police Station.
A collage of a picture of activist Richard Otieno (left) and protestors carrying his body on January 19, 2025.
Photo
Otieno had reportedly lived in fear for his life due to his activism, revealing to his wife that he was a marked man for his criticism of local leadership and President William Ruto’s administration.
Otieno’s woes began in June last year during the anti-government protests, where he was arrested for allegedly being part of the people who razed the home of Molo Member of Parliament Kuria Kimani.
In the wake of the murder, reports emerged that powerful local leaders, among them Kuria, allegedly had a role to play in his demise. Even so, Kuria has never commented publicly on the matter.
Otieno’s murder triggered a wave of demonstrations with irate area residents taking to the streets and blocking the Njoro-Molo road with boulders and lighting bonfires.
The angry residents stormed the mortuary where the deceased’s body was being held and paraded it on the streets in a show of anger and rage.
After the murder, detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) commenced investigations and managed to arrest five suspects.
In a statement, DCI revealed that three of the five suspects were the actual perpetrators of the crime, while two of them were boda boda riders who ferried them to and from the crime scene.
The family of Otieno has called for the sleuths to expedite the investigations and unravel the deeper mystery behind the murder.
The Finance and Planning Committe Chairperson and Molo Kuria Kimani during a public engagement exercise at Kenyatta International Conference Centre(KICC) in Nairobi on November 25, 2024.
National Assembly