By Allan Olingo
Former Turkana South MP Francis Ewaton Achuka allegedly committed suicide after killing his wife in his rural home in Turkana yesterday morning.
Neighbours, who called police, said they discovered the former legislator’s body in his house alongside his wife’s.
Both Ewaton’s body and that of his wife had bullet wounds.
Police confirmed the incident and said they were at the scene of the incident, which was reported at 9am yesterday. The former MP was a licensed gun holder.
Turkana South OCPD John Bosco Muutu said he could not comment on the incident, but referred The Standard to the Rift valley Provincial Police Officer, who was at the home.
“We are aware the incident happened at 7am and the bodies are in the house,” he said, but refused to give more details.
According to family sources, the two had a domestic tussle before the incident.
The former MP had held the seat on a Kanu ticket from 1992 to 2007, when he lost to the current Member of Parliament, Josephat Nanok.
Police say they are yet to establish the motive of the incident. It took place at the former MP’s Lokichar village.
In his lifetime, controversy seemed to follow Ewaton. In May 2005, while he was still MP for Turkana South, Ewaton had an exchange with a parking attendant in Kitale when he refused to pay Sh100 parking fee for his lorry.
Park for free
His lorry had been parked outside a hotel and when the parking attendant requested him to pay, he refused saying that he had privileges that allowed him to park for free.
“You people do not like legislators from Turkana. You should respect me,” he charged as he wrestled the attendants who tried to clamp his vehicle.
It took the intervention of the then Kitale Mayor James Sifuna to ease the stand-off, when Sifuna offered to pay the parking fee on behalf of the MP.
