Police make U-turn over suspects held over Chris Msando’s murder
Ugandan Police on Saturday backtracked over suspects it arrested over the murder of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) ICT Manager Chris Msando.
This after the Aswa River Region Police Spokesperson Mr Jimmy Patrick Okema had indicated that the police had arrested three suspects in connection with the killing of Mr Msando.
However, Ugandan Police spokesman Asan Kasingye has retracted his junior’s assertion.
Mr Kasingye said the suspects in police custody were picked up in connection with an ambush that left a Kenyan national identified as Maurice Macharia dead and are not related to Mr Msando’s killing.
“An engineer working with SS Mehta was driving with his father called Maurice Macharia. People came and shot at them three times. The engineer did not die but the father died. The attackers stole the car, passed Malaba but they were arrested in Pabbo. The occupants are arrested in connection to the murder of Macharia and are not in any way connected with Mr Msando’s killing,” Mr Kasingye said.
Mr Kasingye indicated that he had verified his information with Interpol Kenya and the Police’s Flying Squad unit.
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On Friday evening, Mr Okema had indicated that those arrests are related to Mr Msando’s death.
“You know on Monday Mr Msando was killed in Kenya, its believed that the vehicle could be for killers, but I still don’t have all the details maybe Interpol police will give all the details. However, this is the small information I have, the arrest is related to Msando’s death,” Mr Okema had said.
The suspects have been identified as Mathew Butia (a Kenyan national), Mr Joseph Okongo and Moses Goloba (both Ugandan nationals).
Mr Okema said the vehicle originally had a Kenyan registration KCJ 672V adding that the suspects replaced it with a Ugandan registration in Tororo district
Mr Msando went missing on Friday last week and his body was found together with that of 21-year-old Carol Ngumbu in a forest in a Nairobi suburb on Saturday.
The killing of Mr Msando, who was in charge of Kenya’s computerised voting system,has served to whip up tensions in a tightly contested election with polls indicating that incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta is neck and neck with his main opponent Raila Odinga.
