The torch and matchstick that illuminated Robert Ouko's death

Justice Kwach and Ouko Inquiry Commission Chairman Evans Gicheru (right) examine the late Ouko's pistol. [File, Standard]

When a herdsman, Paul Shikuku, spotted some smoke billowing near a thicket at around 10.30 am on February 16, 1990, he had no idea his discovery would trigger reactions that would lead to deaths and his own disappearance.

For three days, there had been panic in top government circles after popular Foreign minister Robert Ouko failed to turn up at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for a scheduled trip to Zambia.

Instead, a search would later culminate with Shikuku's grotesque find.

On that Friday morning, the partly burnt remains of Dr Ouko were found at Got Alila, a few kilometres from his home in Koru where he was last seen on the night of February 12 by his farm workers.

At first, it appeared as if he had committed suicide. His pistol was placed near his head. It had one cartridge in it. His Somali sword and his walking stick were also next to the body which had a bullet entry wound above the right ear.

There was also a jerrycan of super dip.

About three to four metres from the body lay a polythene bag containing clean socks and a pair of jeans, a kitenge shirt, and a leather jacket whose pocket had four rounds of ammunition and some Sh450.

There was also a box of matches that the planners wanted the world to believe Ouko had used to burn himself after shooting himself with a gun that he carefully placed within arm's length.

He had also broken his leg. The fire this matchbox had ignited to burn the body would take decades to smother but even today, its embers have not yet been completely extinguished.

The torch the killers had left shining feebly by Ouko's remains too has since run out of power, just like most of the investigators who have all joined the subject of their probe in the world yonder.

The batteries of the torch Ouko is said to have borrowed from one of his workers died a long time ago without casting away the shadows of the planners of the gruesome assassination.

Shikuku too never lived to see the outcome of the probe of the murder he had helped uncover just like the police Commissioner, Philip Kilonzo.

A number of other players in the murder probe succumbed to poisoning.

Likewise, all of Ouko's employees who had been witnesses in the case have died either in their sleep or after a short illness.

The commission of inquiry led by Evans Gicheru which sat for 246 days and listened to 172 witnesses was disbanded prematurely before releasing its findings.

After all these twists and turns, questions still linger.

Who actually pulled the trigger that somehow changed the course of Kenya's history on February 13, 1990?