Hands Dripping With Innocent Blood

Guest post by Sam Okello

After the sudden and very depressing deaths of the Hon. Kipkalya Kones and the Hon. Lorna Loboso, I've found myself reflecting on the trail of death that has stalked Kenya since independence. The sad thing about these deaths is that they are never resolved, which only encourages the men who plot the murder of others to think they can always get away with the next murder. Is it any wonder they are now talking about bringing the curtain down on these murders? Does that mean killers will go free?

Just so we are clear, Kenyans are not dumb. Whenever a high profile murder is committed, we always know who's done it. With fairly accurate fingers, we can point at the man responsible for the murder of another. So for the sake of history, let's point those fingers.

J.M. Kariuki
This was one of the most flamboyant politicians the House of Mumbi ever gave us. He was known to have had an independent mind. He spoke as a Kenyan and shunned the politics of tribe. Indeed, it's because of his independent streak, and his ability to see all Kenyans as one people, that the administration of President Kenyatta had a problem with him. So in the mid-seventies, he was killed by men in that government. Since Kenyatta is dead, and Kanyotu just died, there is only one man who can tell us with certainty who killed JM. The man is Dr. Njoroge Mungai. Can he tell us the truth, or does he plan to die with it like Kenyatta and Kanyotu?

Tom Mboya
Mboya was a brilliant young man. The history books and the historians I've consulted say that he became a key rival of the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, and allowed himself to be played against Jaramogi by the Mt Kenya elite. It was because of him that Kenya Peoples Union came into existence...after he came up with the regional vice presidency scheme. The rest is history, as they say. What I want to point out is that once the Mt. Kenya elite accomplished their mission to silence Oginga Odinga, they killed Tom. The man who pulled the trigger gave us the name of the man who sent him. The sender was Jomo Kenyatta. So who killed Tom? Again, if the nation wants the truth behind this murder, ask Dr. Njoroge Mungai.

Dr. Robert Ouko
Because this death took place when people my age were relatively grown up, it marked the first time we witnessed the messy nature of politics. It opened our eyes to the fact that there were greedy and dangerous men in our midst, people who could kill any of us with impunity. But what became even more shocking than the murder was that the people who killed Bob are still walking free. If you buy the bull that it has not been proven Nicholas Biwott and Daniel Arap Moi did it, dream on. What I know is that many people lost their lives because they knew or witnessed an aspect of Bob's murder. But there are three people still alive who were principals in the sordid scheme. These were characters who were directly responsible for eliminating Bob. I've given you the names of Moi and Biwott. The third name is Marianne Briner. This woman has always presented herself as one who was a victim of the evils of the Moi administration. What I know today, this very moment, is that had Marianne Briner not passed on to Biwott and Moi the private conversations she had with the man, and had she not overly hyped them, Bob would be alive today.

Horace Ongili Owiti
Horace Ongili is said to have been a rising politician in Kenya. By the time he was brutally murdered and his body discarded in a maize plantation, it was rumored that he was set to be named vice president. At that time, the seat was occupied by an Othaya MP called Mwai Kibaki. In swaths of Luo land, it was believed that Mwai Kibaki used the late Ambala to kill Horace. Since the Othaya MP is still alive, why can't one courageous journalist ask him about his role in this death? And while at it, can he also tell us what he knows about the murder of Dr. Crispin Odhiambo Mbai? Can you, Mr. President?

Bishop Alexander Kipsang Arap Muge
This man of God was one of the most influential church people in Kenya. I had the privilege of meeting him in Eldoret just weeks before his murder. I was struck by how soft-spoken he was. It was difficult for me to see in the painfully soft-voice prelate the fearsome character the press had turned him out to be. In any case, because of his pronouncements, he was killed. There are those who thought Peter Habenga Hokondo was the killer. That's absurd. The killer was a man I've called in my novels Nick Boit.

Ladies and gentlemen, those were the big five. But others have died too. Here are their names:

Pio Gama Pinto
He was a rising politician of Indian descent. Does anybody know who killed Pio?

CMG Argwings Kodhek
Those who were born a number of years after independence know very little about Argwings. What I know for sure is that he was killed. I challenge whoever knows the story behind this murder to lay it out for us. Look, there's some crap they've written about Argwings in Google and Wikipedia, what we need here today is the inside story. Who killed Agwenge?

Masinde Muliro, Hezekiah Oyugi, Dorothy Randiek, A Nakuru Nurse... These people were killed by the same men who killed Dr. Robert Ouko.

Melitus Were and Kimutai Too
If you want to know who killed these young men, ask Police Chief, General Ali.

Finally, we have Kones and Lorna. Were they killed? Like the rest of the above murders, these ones will not be solved. We have one of the best police forces in the world and yet when it comes to these political murders, they behave like a bunch idiots. Giggling sissies.

Will there come a time when they can follow the trail of the murders and tell the nation this:

'Fellow Kenyans, you gave us the task to find out who killed_______. After a thorough investigation, we can now report that though Mr. so and so pulled the trigger, he acted on behalf of the Hon______.'

Will that day ever come? Because when it does, the murders may finally end.

For Love of Country.

Sam Okello