Several months before his death, police sergeant Kipyegon Kenei had fallen out with some of Deputy President William Ruto’s close associates, the Nation has learnt.
So bad was the situation that he had even contemplated seeking a transfer from Harambee House Annex.
ECHESA’S VISIT
This is one of the angles that investigators are pursuing as they seek to find out who killed the officer — a key cog in unlocking the Sh39 billion fake arms scandal.
A postmortem on his body, which was scheduled to take place on Monday, failed due to the unavailability of the government pathologist, Dr Johansen Oduor. It is expected to be conducted on Wednesday morning.
Police sources told the Nation on Tuesday that it was Mr Kenei who received former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa and his company into the DP’s second floor office on the day they were arrested.
In the process, one of the DP’s secretaries wondered how Mr Echesa had gained access to the office. Detectives believe Mr Kenei was acting on the instructions of a high-ranking official.
Following Mr Echesa’s arrest, the tensions between Mr Kenei and some of the DP’s operatives spilt over into the public.
Although Mr Kenei’s poor relationship with the DP’s associates had affected his work, he did not reveal this to his family.
So bad was the fallout that Mr Kenei, who was the head of security at Harambee House Annex, had asked a Cabinet Secretary to facilitate his transfer.
“The CS, a close ally of Dr Ruto, told Mr Kenei that the DP had confidence in him, and with the possibility of him being elected to State House in the 2022 General Election, Mr Kenei would be appointed to a good position. He urged him to continue serving Dr Ruto,” the confidant said.
INVESTIGATION
Indeed, Mr Kenei had won Dr Ruto’s trust. He carried out errands for the boss at his Sugoi home, to the chagrin of some of the DP’s men, said the confidant.
It is such revelations that appeared to have angered Mr Kenei’s father, Mr John Chesang, who urged Dr Ruto to personally take charge of the investigation.
Mr Chesang is said to have told the DP when he called to condole with the family that he must give them “answers about the death” of his son.
“Mzee was furious and told the DP to take charge because Kenei was one of his key men and had died while in his office. The DP promised Mzee a thorough investigation,” said the confidant.
The family also believes that by the time Mr Kenei was sending money to his wife and father, he was captive and the killers made it to appear like a suicide.
“He had just left enough cash with the wife and so she wondered why he was sending her more money. His father was also confused when he sent Sh10,000 yet he had given him money to buy goats for their family celebration after the birth of their child,” the confidant said.
The family could not reach him after the transactions.
Mr Kenei had asked for photos of his wife and their children via WhatsApp. Later, his social media pages were deactivated.
The confidant believes Mr Kenei might have been living on borrowed time for a while, saying the killers only took advantage of the Echesa saga to eliminate him.
