A Nakuru Court has allowed police to detain five suspects linked to the cold-blooded murder of Molo activist Richard Haga Otieno for 21 days.
The five, Geoffrey Mavado, John Ndegwa, Jorim Ngonga, Clinton Simantu and Peter Mwaniki, were arrested at the weekend, before being arraigned in Nakuru on Monday.
Principal Magistrate Kipkurui Kibelion allowed police to detain the five at Kaptembwo Police Station pending completion of investigations.
"I acknowledge that police have a lot of ground to cover in the case in terms of investigations and the court hereby grants them 21 days to conclude the probe," said Kibelion.
"The case under investigation has elicited public outcry and anger and therefore the safety of the suspects is also paramount to ensure justice.They will be detained I'm Kaptembwo Police Station or any other station," he added.
The prosecution through Inspector Peter Wachira from the DCI's Homicide Department had made the application, in which he sought to have police allowed to detain the suspects for 30 days, to conclude investigations.
According to Mr Wachira, police need more time to investigate the two motorcycles and also to conduct a DNA test as they pursue the mastermind of the murder plot who is still at large.
Detectives also said they had vital information that might likely lead to arrests of more suspects and accomplices. Detectives believe the five are hitmen who were paid to eliminate Mr Otieno.
Mavado, Ndegwa and Ngonga are believed to have been directly involved in the brutal killing.
The other two, Simantu, alias Muiruri, and Mwaniki, alias Pinchez, are boda boda operators believed to have ferried the hitmen to and from the scene of crime.
During the hearing, it emerged that on November 8, 2024, Mavado and Ndegwa were arrested and charged for assaulting the deceased and were sentenced to a one year probation.
The five suspects linked to the murder of Molo political activist Richard Otieno at the Nakuru Law Court on February 03, 2025.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation Media Group
On Monday, detectives revealed to the Nation that the two had been forensically placed at the scene of crime.
Investigations by detectives revealed that the five suspects were geolocated at the same location on the day the victim was attacked and killed.
Otieno, a youth leader and a fierce critic of the government and Molo Member of Parliament Kuria Kimani, was hacked to death on January 18, 2025 a few metres from Elburgon Police Station.
After the murder, detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations' Homicide Department and those from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau(CRIB), took over the investigations into the gruesome murder.
Otieno, who was popularly known as 'Molo President', was found murdered two days after he complained that he was being trailed by three unknown persons. He had also reported receiving threats from unknown individuals.
According to an autopsy conducted a week ago by Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor at the Kericho Referral Hospital mortuary, Otieno succumbed to severe head injuries caused by a sharp object, likely a panga or an axe.
The autopsy was conducted in the presence of representatives from his family and the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU).
The autopsy further revealed that the body had multiple slash wounds on the back and front areas of the skull, which fractured the skull and led to excessive bleeding in the brain.
His death sparked public outrage and led to protests that rocked Elburgon town and its environs, as residents demanded answers over the murder.
At one point, the residents stormed Elburgon sub-County Hospital mortuary, where the body had been preserved, and stashed it into a plastic bag before making a procession on Elburgon-Molo road and dumping it outside Elburgon Police Station.
Due to the protests, the body was later taken to the Kericho Referral Hospital mortuary in Kericho County for preservation.
Otieno met his death just outside his gate as he returned home after watching an English Premier League football match at a club in Elburgon town. The case will be mention on February 24.
