Two men accused of the murder of CDF official a decade ago found guilty

Judge Hilary Chemitei ruled that prosecution had proved its case against Nahashon Omondi alias Chief and Kenneth Barasa Luchu. [Courtesy]

A Kitale High Court has found two men guilty of murdering former Saboti Constituency Development Fund (CDF) manager Joshua Nyatuke Orina.

Judge Hilary Chemitei ruled that prosecution had proved its case against Nahashon Omondi alias Chief and Kenneth Barasa Luchu.

Omondi and Barasa are accused of murdering Mr Orina on March 19, 2008 at Nzoia Sugar Company's nuclear plantation block 513 in Bungoma East.

Prosecution called 13 witnesses among them Orina’s widow, Jemima Nyamusi.

The two were accused of abducting Orina from Kitale before they murdered him in Bungoma.

During the hearing, Nyamusi told the court how her husband left her at a supermarket in Kitale town to deliver a letter to the then treasurer of Saboti CDF, Isaac Masengeli, but never returned. 

Wife's testimony

The letter concerned some Sh700, 000 imprest that had not been surrendered.

“I called his two mobile phones but they went unanswered and were later switched off,” Nyamusi told the court.

Police used images extracted from an ATM at Equity Bank to link Omondi and Barasa to the killing.

This was after the widow realised that Sh72, 000 had been withdrawn from her late husband’s bank account.

Other evidence produced in the court was a vehicle that they used to carry Orina from Kitale to the scene of crime in Bungoma.

Spent cartridges, a driving license and ATM card found in the car were produced as exhibits.

The judge dismissed the accused persons' defence that their confessions of guilt were a result of being denied food, for days, and a promise by police that they would be treated as witnesses.