Murder most foul | How 2 men killed bodaboda rider over his girlfriend; brother watched helplessly after faking death

Two men have been slapped with a life sentence after they were convicted of killing a bodaboda rider over in Siaya County in November 2018.

Justice was finally served to the family of Ronald Otieno, from Sigomere in Siaya County, that has been grieving the death of their son since 2018, when he was run over by a vehicle.

In a scene that, DCI says, had initially been stage managed to appear like a normal accident scene, homicide detectives who later conducted forensic investigations into the accident, dismissed the earlier conclusion and nailed the suspects responsible for the murder most foul.

Benjamin Odhiambo and Vincent Owuor who were aboard the killer vehicle were sentenced on Wednesday last week, after a Siaya court found them guilty of murder, contrary to section 203 as read with section 204 of the penal code.

Where It All Started

It all started on a fun-filled night on November 30, 2018, at a popular nightspot in Bungasi trading centre in Siaya County.

The bodaboda rider and his girlfriend, Mercy Akinyi, had arrived at the nightclub on a bodaboda, ready to enjoy themselves with good local benga and Ohangla tunes, popular in the Luo traditional folklore.

All was going on well for the lovebirds until at around midnight, when the deceased picked a quarrel with his girlfriend over an unknown issue. This prompted Akinyi to walk out of the bar in a huff and board a Toyota Hilux pick-up truck that had been parked outside.

Before the deceased knew what was happening, the truck took off with his girlfriend onboard, leaving a thick cloud of dust. The deceased, irked by the sudden turn of events, jumped on his motorbike with his brother on the pillion seat and together they went after the vehicle.

As they approached Sigomere trading centre, the motorbike caught up with the vehicle and overtook it. Determined to get his girl back from the two men, the deceased together with his brother flagged down the vehicle but the driver had no intention to stop.

Driver Accelerates, Hits The Motorbike

He accelerated and hit the motorbike from the back, tossing the pillion passenger to a nearby ditch and the deceased on the road. One of the accused driving the vehicle stopped and his accomplice alighted.

He confirmed that the one in the ditch had died while the motorbike rider was still alive, lying sprawled on the tarmac.

The court heard that the accused positioned the bodaboda rider along the tracks of the truck and instructed his accomplice to reverse, running over the deceased several times into a pulp.

The two then escaped to an unknown destination in the 3am incident.

Bodaboda Rider Brother Faked His Death

Miraculously, the deceased’s brother who was tossed into the ditch did not die. He only faked his death to escape the wrath of the vicious men, who killed his brother in cold blood.

The badly shaken victim was all along listening from the ditch as the vehicle ran over his brother’s body several times, before it finally left.

When police later arrived at the scene, one keen officer noted that the accident did not appear normal. Homicide detectives from DCI headquarters were invited and immediately took over investigations into the matter.

Police officers across the country were put on alert and the vehicle that was involved in the grisly murder circulated on the police radar.

It was later flagged down as it approached Nairobi and the two suspects arrested. The vehicle that had been thoroughly cleaned to erase any traces of the accident was impounded and later became the key exhibit into unraveling the murder mystery of the bodaboda rider.

The vehicle was subjected to clinical forensic analysis, several samples collected for examination. The results of the tests from the DCI forensic lab and the government chemist indeed confirmed that the vehicle overrun the body of the deceased severally, after traces of the bodaboda rider's brain matter and DNA was found beneath the vehicle.

An autopsy conducted by Dr Thaddeus Masawe at Siaya County Referral Hospital confirmed that the bodaboda rider died as result of head injury. The head was crushed, while the limbs, ribs and legs were all broken.

While pronouncing her judgment at the Siaya High Court, Justice R. E. Aburili stated that the court was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the two indeed were guilty as charged .

"The Directorate of Criminal Investigations hopes that the life sentence handed down to the two suspects brings some semblance of justice to the family and friends of the deceased bodaboda rider. We thank Justice Aburilli, for her judgment and the prosecution for a well-presented case.

"To our Homicide branch, Scenes of Crime personnel, Photographic & Acoustics team and all the officers who were involved in cracking the murder and nailing the suspect, we celebrate you. Your efforts can never go unrecognized," says the DCI.

The two suspects had initially been booked for a traffic offence and almost got away with the murder of the bodaboda rider.