BLOG: Three unanswered questions over Chris Musando’s death
Chris Msando is dead, and like most Kenyans who believe that someone had a hand in his demise, I cannot fathom the network of individuals and the fire that may have been behind his painful exit from his Anniversary Towers job.
Msando’s death is not a surprise to most liberal thinkers because it is almost obvious that his demise was caused by foul play- a political hand.
It is still mysterious, but rather unconvincing how a key employee of the IEBC can disappear and later on be found dead, just a week to the elections.
Here are the three mysterious questions we should ask ourselves to have a clear insight into his death:
1. Who could be thirsty for Msando’s blood?
The Kriegler report, following the 2007/08’s post-elections violence recommended for a new result tallying and transmission mode, which led to the introduction of the electronic result transmission system.
Before this, it was easy for any powerful political force to magically swing votes to their basket. A series of constitutional amendments were made, creating an ICT unit in the electoral management body.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is how Chris Musando got his job at the IEBC. Chris Musando, in his role, was a steady firewall against the rigging of elections.
From media interviews, Msando has been a vocal individual in assuring Kenyans that the electronic system would make it impossible for anyone to manipulate the results.
However, it is worth noting that in Kenya, people steal elections using their thorax, and it is almost impossible to disassociate Msando’s death from any political force that would want to have a swift way to victory.
2. The Moses Kuria Question
Hours before the announcement, Moses Kuria, the Member of Parliament for Gatundu South Constituency, posted this message on his social media page.
This message in its light and context is controversial. Clearly, Kuria was addressing the public. But, why was the MP at the scene, at the time and most importantly, why did he publish such sensitive information on social media. Such information is normally relayed to the CID.
Whether Moses Kuria was issuing a pretext for the news that was to be related to the public or if he was in his usual errands when he came across Chris Msando’s car is still a question that is yet to be answered.
3. Why was Msando not secured, and why two days after his death
A leader who holds a key position like Msando ought to be under tight security, but this was not the case for the late IEBC official. His search began on Friday evening; his body taken to the City Mortuary on Saturday by Police officers, but officials from the same department only found out that the body was his, on Monday afternoon.
Msando was a public official and was, therefore, well-known to the public. It would have been easy for the Police officers to immediately confirm whether the body that was taken to the city Mortuary on Saturday was that of Mr Msando, owing to the fact that he had been reported missing the previous evening.
Such mysterious killings are not unique to Kenya. Jacob Juma, Joshua Yebei, and Lawyer Willy Kimani are just but notable cases whose circumstances are consistent with one another over the past two years.
Sam Nyang’u is a writer and contributor at The Nairobi Observer. He is also the founder and author of Shark Freelance.
