By CYRUS OMBATI

Nairobi, Kenya: Mr Tony Ogunda, the man at the centre of a former minister’s divorce might have been killed.

Police are now treating his death as a possible murder following fresh leads.

Ogunda had been named in the divorce case as the lover of Mr Raphael Tuju’s wife, Ruth Akinyi.

Ogunda, still only in his 20s, was found dead on Tuesday morning on a sofa where he spent the night as a guest of Akinyi’s nephew, Collin Okoth, at the offices of Tuju’s Hope Foundation.

On Wednesday, police sources indicated that autopsy results showed the former General Service Unit officer died due to head injuries caused by a blunt object.

Following the development, the police told The Standard Okoth was summoned to record more statements.

He had been out drinking with the deceased the night before the body was discovered and was the one who reported the death to the police.

Another officer revealed they had also summoned Tuju’s wife, Akinyi, for questioning after it emerged she was not in good terms with her lover. Tuju has filed a divorce case in which he accuses his wife of cheating on him with Ogunda. 

The Nairobian, a popular and fast growing weekly published by the Standard Group, was first to break the news of Tuju’s pending divorce.

An autopsy conducted on Ogunda’s body revealed he suffered internal bleeding to his brain.

“He had trauma to his head, which is consistent with a blunt force. The deceased had internal bleeding to the brain,” said Government pathologist Peter Ndegwa.

Dr Ndegwa and chief Government pathologist Johansen Oduor conducted the autopsy at the City Mortuary. Ndegwa said they had taken various samples from the body for more toxicological tests.

The tests will show if Ogunda, 24, the last born in a family of three boys, had any chemicals in his body that might have contributed to his death.

The autopsy was conducted in the presence of the family lawyer Cliff Ombeta. Ndegwa said they had informed police of the findings.

“I believe police will be able to tell the family who or what caused the injuries. The injuries are on the forehead and the left side of the back of his head,” said Ndegwa.

Tuju is still in South Africa, but said Wednesday he could not comment on the matter as it is under investigation.

Broke down

Ogunda’s friends flocked the mortuary as the family arrived to pick the body to transport it to Homa Bay District Hospital.

His mother, a nurse at the local hospital, broke down and was unable to give interviews.

One of Ogunda’s friends, Mr George Otieno, claimed Wednesday that Akinyi and Ogunda’s relationship had recently soured. Otieno alleged Akinyi had planned to meet Ogunda this weekend to iron out their differences. 

Otieno claimed that on Tuesday last week, Akinyi drove in a Nissan X-Trail to a house in Umoja where Ogunda was staying to demand for her belongings.

“She came and picked up some curtains from Ogunda and we took them to her car. They have been on and off in the past days over some issues we did not understand,” claimed Otieno.

Otieno said he, Ogunda, Okoth and other friends had in the past two weeks been on a drinking spree.

“Collins has been buying us alcohol, but he did not drink himself and we do not know why. On Sunday, we even had a bash in the same house where the body was found,” said Otieno.

He claimed the broken door at one of the houses in the compound was as a result of a confrontation last Wednesday involving him and other friends.

The lifeless body of Ogunda was found lying on the sofa set of Okoth’s house, which also belongs to Tuju.

Besides his body was a container and syringe, which police suspect was used on him.  

Kilimani police boss Bernard Muli said they found a bottle labeled Humalog 1DNA 100gms with the syringe next to the body.

The medicine is used to treat diabetes, but Ogunda’s mother and friends denied he had such a medical condition. They claimed the bottle could have been planted there to divert attention.

GSU Commandant William Saiya confirmed Ogunda was sacked for gross misconduct in 2010.

Ogunda had joined the paramilitary unit in 2008, but was dismissed two years later. “As much as the matter did not end up in court, he was dismissed for serious misconduct,” said Saiya.