Former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua has raised fresh questions over the killing of Mt Elgon parliamentary aspirant Nathan Masai Wasama, alleging that senior government officials attempted to shield the suspected perpetrator before public pressure forced authorities to act.
Wasama, 61, was shot dead at his home in Tukuit, Cheptais, Bungoma County, on the night of Thursday, August 6. The former councillor for Chesikaki Ward was reportedly preparing to contest the Mt Elgon parliamentary seat in the 2027 General Election.
Speaking on Wednesday, August 12, Gachagua claimed Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Director Mohamed Amin were involved in an alleged attempt to cover up the killing.
“An MP aspirant was killed in Mt Elgon. Murkomen and Amin were covering it up,” Gachagua claimed, alleging that the person he identified as the suspected killer was initially being protected by police rather than arrested.
According to the former deputy president, his decision to publicly raise the matter increased pressure on security agencies, leading to a subsequent operation at the residence of Mt Elgon MP Fred Chesebe Kapondi.
“So, last night, they went to Mt Elgon MP Kapondi's residence, where they found 18 firearms and more than 3,000 bullets. Eight youths were also found there,” Gachagua claimed.
He questioned how firearms and ammunition allegedly belonging to the government could have ended up at the home of an elected lawmaker.
“Why are government-owned guns and bullets being given to the Mt Elgon MP and being used to kill Kenyans?” he asked, arguing that the weapons were purchased using taxpayers’ money and were intended to protect citizens.
Gachagua further challenged the security agencies to establish how the alleged weapons reached Kapondi’s residence and whether they were connected to Wasama’s killing.
The claims come as detectives continue investigating the murder, with five suspects reportedly in police custody.
The first suspect, Oscar Koech Sakong, was arrested following intelligence linking him to the killing, while Wycliffe Chesubei Ngeiwa and Geoffrey Makwere Masai were subsequently arrested during a police operation in Marigo Village.
Two other suspects, Robert Kimutai Psisei, alias Robert Miti, and Brian Chongin Kaos, later surrendered to police, bringing the number of people in custody to five.