Akombe devastated by death of Embakasi East IEBC official

Former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) member Roselyn Akombe says she is devastated after the body of the Embakasi East returning officer, who was reported missing on Friday night, was found in Kajiado.

Daniel Mbolu Musyoka’s body was found on Monday in the Kilombero forest, at the foot of Mt Kilimanjaro, by herders.

Police officers from Loitokitok, Kajiado South sub-county, were alerted about the presence of the body of a middle-aged man in the forest.

Ms Akombe tweeted on Tuesday morning: “Devastated that the missing IEBC Returning Officer has been found murdered in a forest.”

She said she remembered Mr Musyoka as a diligent officer who dedicated his life to public service.

“I send my deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. A public inquest into his death is urgent,” she added.

She felt unsafe

Ms Akombe fled to New York and resigned in the run-up to the 2017 presidential repeat election, saying she felt unsafe and that the commission could not hold a credible election.

Meanwhile, detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations’ (DCI) Forensic Unit in Embakasi, Nairobi, have taken over the case.

On Tuesday, they arrived at the Loitokitok Sub-County Hospital mortuary for preliminary investigations into the death.

Mr Musyoka, 53, went missing on August 11 after excusing himself to make a phone call at around 9.45am.

In a media briefing on Friday at the Bomas of Kenya, IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati said the worker was last seen at the East African School of Aviation tallying centre, where he had been escorted by his bodyguard.

Mr Musyoka worked for the IEBC for 13 years.

He was first posted to Loitoktok but was transferred to Embakasi East in May.

At the time he disappeared, he was about to declare the winners in MP and ward rep contests.

People who interacted with him said he excused himself to pick up a call before he went missing. His deputy took over and announced the results.