NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 1- It is a cry for help and justice for the family of Joseph Ochieng, following his abduction and subsequent killing.
Ochieng, who hails from Kawangware, was abducted by unknown people on February 19, only for his body to be found in a city morgue, days later.
His body had marks of torture, relatives and police told Shahidi News.
Some family members say he was abducted by men “likely to have been security officers.”
On the fateful day, Ochieng had joined friends at an entertainment joint in Kawangware area 56, but would never be seen again, alive.
“All along, there were men trailing him,” a relative told Shahidi News.
A witness who sought anonymity said the men trailing the deceased had clothing’s like those of police officers.
It is one of the men who reached out to him, walked out with him from the entertainment joint, and with no time, he had been bundled into the waiting car.
The businessman cum politician was abducted and killed days after he was hosted by Deputy President William Ruto.
The abductors switched off his mobile phone shortly after the abduction.
On February 23, the family received a strange call, advising them to look for their kin in a morgue in Nyeri County.
His body had been badly mutilated. It also had acid burns.
The family say police and Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) detectives are yet to initiate investigations.
The deceased was largely known by his peers as Obude.
“It is painful that I have lost a dear son. But I am glad that the body was found and I can give him a decent send off. I fear for my life and will not pursue the matter with the authorities,” the deceased mother Selina Atieno Masawa said.
Atieno said from the way they were being treated at the police station, she was convinced her son was not in the hands of criminals.
“It was quite clear the police knew his whereabouts and were not keen on investigating,” she said.
The mother said she could not place a finger on the cause, saying being the chairman of the youth in the area who was also in charge of containers at a stage in Kawangware, he could have been the target.
He had also acquired some structures which he rented out to businessmen in the area, according to the mother.
She further revealed that the deceased loved politics a lot.
“In 2017, he was actively involved in politics and I got concerned and worried. I remember having implored him to abandon politics due to the potential risks,” the mother said.
“My son died just before we travelled home to build a home. He had insisted that we go home but I told him to wait until month-end.”
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