Julius Mugoi, a 33-year-old man suspected of murdering treasury official Tom Osinde, has been described by the residents of Nyakeyo village as a repeat offender.
The locals say that before Mugoi left the village, he was a well-known criminal.
According to the residents and his mother, Mugoi dropped out of Nyakeyo Primary School in his seventh year.
“Tumesoma naye hapa Nyakeyo but ata akiwa class seven alikuwa akivuta mkia,” Elishafan Kibagendi, a resident said.
Speaking to Citizen TV, one of the residents narrated how Mugoi chased his mother with a machete after she blocked him from selling their family land.
"Huyo jamaa hakuwa mtu mzuri, juu ata wakati mamake alimkataza kuuza shamba, alichukua panga akakimbiza mama yake," Elshavaan Kibagendi said.
Tom Osinde
The late Tom Osinde went missing on Sunday, June 18, 2023, after leaving his home to go to Kisii, a destination that he never reached.
The family reported the matter to the police and the search began.
Osinde's car, a Toyota Landcruiser, was later found dumped in Transmara, vandalized and without a trace of him.
Osinde's son confirmed that the vehicle, indeed belonged to his father.
“Osinde’s son, Stephen Mokaya, positively identified his father’s vehicle which was missing a battery and radio. We found some documents in the vehicle which are assisting us with investigations,” Trans Mara West Police Commander Jamleck Ngaruiya said.
The lifeless, decaying body of Osinde was recovered by officers from Kamagambo Police Station at River Kuja in Migori County.
Officials at the Migori County Referral Morgue were unaware that the horrifically disfigured body was Osinde's so they labelled it as unknown.
The family of the late Osinde identified his body, which was then moved to the Kisii Referral Hospital morgue, where it underwent postmortem on Friday, June 30, 2023.
The deceased is believed to have been drugged by his perpetrators who tortured and murdered him, before dumping his body in River Kuja.
Police arrested two people in connection to his murder, one of them being Mugoi and 51-year-old Muga Gathii, who were both workers of the late Tom Osinde.
The two suspects are in police custody at Menengai Police Station in Nakuru, as the detectives continue with their investigations.
Detectives from the forensic department also visited the home of Osinde in Ngata Farm, Nakuru to gather evidence on the murder case.
