Revealed: Slain IEBC returning officer was planning to go into hiding

Mr Daniel Musyoka, the slain Embakasi East Returning Officer had indicated to a close family member that he feared for his life just a few days before he was reported missing, it has now emerged. Mr Nicholas Musyoka, his cousin told the media on Saturday that he had communicated with the deceased who informed him that all was not well and he was planning to go into hiding. "When I last spoke to him he expressed fear for his life saying he needed somewhere to go into hiding. I figured things were not okay for him," Mr Musyoka said. A detective privy to the ongoing investigations has also revealed to Nairobi News that once Mr Musyoka left the East African School of Aviation, he had interacted with three people - a woman, a bodaboda rider and his pillion passenger - before he eventually disappeared. According to the detective, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the three were people of interest in the ongoing investigations. “Currently, we are seeking the three people he interacted with as soon as he left the tallying center. It is also important to find out which means of transport he used from the tallying center to Church Road,” the sleuth said. Staff and security guards at the tallying center have said that the deceased had checked in at 9:30am but walked out moments later saying that he would be back. His colleagues said that he had the previous night also excused himself from the rest and decided to be alone inside a room within the tallying center. On Friday, Nairobi News exclusively reported that a secret phone and a CCTV footage are now at the center stage of the ongoing investigations into the brutal murder of the IEBC staff. Detectives attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Thursday this week retrieved a CCTV footage which captured one of the last moments of Mr Musyoka while he was alive and within Embakasi East constituency. The footage clearly captures Mr Musyoka who was found dead on August 15 and body dumped in Loitoktok, Kajiado County speaking to a bodaboda rider at 10:30am on Church Road, Tassia in Embakasi East constituency. A pillion passenger who was also on the motorbike spoke briefly with the official before the motorbike left towards the opposite direction. The Returning Officer was left standing at the same place where he spoke with the duo for one minute and 30 seconds before he was seen answering a phone call. He then left at the same time and that was the last moment he was seen alive. It has also emerged that his known phone number’s signal was last traced to Mihang’o in Utawala, Nairobi County. This week, Mr Francis Mureithi, who was eyeing the Embakasi East parliamentary seat but lost to Mr Paul Ongili alias Babu Owino sensationally claimed that the latter had something to do with the murder. Mr Mureithi, who garnered 26,699 votes against Mr Owino's 53,195 votes, further claimed that already key witnesses in the brutal murder of the IEBC staff were being threatened and he asked the they are provided with protection. However, in a rejoinder, Mr Owino, who said that he had already sued Mr Mureithi for defamation, said he had nothing to do with the murder. “He disappeared moments before he could declare who had won in the elections. At the time it was already clear that I had won the elections against my unworthy opponent Mr Mureithi. When someone dies the first question is who will benefit from the death of this person?” he posed.