I’m ever on the run, says witness in murder case

By VINCENT BARTOO

When he got to former Ainamoi MP Kimutai Too, he was gasping for breath and his body shaking from the impact of bullets fired at him.

“He lay on the steering wheel of the car, blood oozing from his body. The blood rapidly soaked the driver’s seat,” recalled Eric Egadwa (pictured). He was among the first people to arrive at the scene where a traffic police officer had shot dead the MP and a fellow female officer in Eldoret on January 31, 2008.

Mr Egadwa would later become a key State witness in the murder trial of the accused officer, Andrew Moeche Omwenga. “I still remember that day very well. To date, I still have nightmares of the officer who lay on my lap as we rushed her to hospital,” he admitted.

DRASTIC CHANGE

From then on, life has  drastically changed for Egadwa who, unknown to many, has been a target for elimination alongside another key State witness. “We were two who were called to be State witnesses; I and a lady whose name I will not mention for security purposes,” Egadwa told The Standard.

He said they were both threatened before Moeche was arraigned before the High Court in Nakuru to face murder charges. “I got anonymous calls warning me against testifying in the case. They did not relent and would call even at midnight,” he said.

The same would happen to the woman witness who wanted to drop  out of the case.

“We are always on the run. Our lives have never been the same. I have even developed paranoia, something I never had,” he said. “The two of us bore incriminating evidence and we knew we were the ones to make him (Moeche) face justice for what he did or make him walk scot-free for lack of evidence,” said Egadwa.