Six record statements over Msando’s murder

?Six people have been questioned in connection with the killing of an election agency official and his female companion.

And on Thursday, a post-mortem revealed that Maryanne Ngumbu, 21, was strangled using a rope. The autopsy conducted at the City Mortuary showed she also had bruises on her hands, probably from being tied.

Police said they had questioned and recorded statements from six people in connetion with the killing of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission ICT Manager Chris Msando and Ms Ngumbu.

Four others termed as persons of interest are being sought, said Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinnet.

Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor said the killers squeezed Ms Ngumbu’s neck and throat.

“She died of asphyxia due to ligature strangulation. This means she could not breathe due to tying of the neck by a rope,” he said.

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The postmortem was witnessed by Ms Ngumbu’s family and police. The family was later allowed to move the body to a mortuary in Gachie. Police also took samples from her body to establish if there was any other form of assault.

Mr Msando was also strangled but an autopsy on Wednesday indicated his killers may have used bare hands and also hit him on the head, inflicting a deep cut. His right hand also had deep cuts, a possible indication of torture.

Scene of crime

Police led by a team from the homicide department are investigating the killings. They said they have yet to know the primary scene of crime of the murder and termed as secondary the forest where the bodies were dumped.

The bodies were found in Muguga Forest, Kikuyu, on Saturday. Some of the members of the investigation team said they are following, among other angles, business deals and tenders at the electoral commission and Mr Msando’s job position.

Clothes and other personal belongings, including mobile phones, which could help unravel the murder, have not been traced.

The six who recorded statements were bonded as investigations go on. “Six statements have been recorded and we are pursuing four persons who are of interest,” said Mr Boinnet.

Sources said among those police want to talk to is a man who walked with Mr Msando to a bar along Koinange Street on Friday night, hours before his death.

The team has so far visited Number 7 bar and restaurant and reviewed CCTV footage as part of efforts to identify the man.

The officers also want to talk to a woman who was captured on the cameras riding in the IEBC manager’s car. The woman is not Ms Ngumbu, investigations have shown.

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