Suspects in murder of Willis Ayieko were brothers - police

A slain suspect and one in custody over the murder of Wells Fargo HR manager Willis Onyango were brothers.

Police said the slain suspect George Oduor Okoth and Victor Okoth Ouma are brothers.

Oduor is the elder one and allegedly introduced Ouma to crime, police said. They were also boxers and well-known in the area.

Oduor was Thursday killed in a confrontation with police in Kisumu town and a firearm recovered from him.

He was ambushed by police in his hideout at a guest house opposite Kisumu National Polytechnic.

Police said he clung on to his Smith and Walter pistol in readiness for a gun battle.

Oduor who had earlier escaped police dragnet leaving behind a rolling vehicle and a seriously injured female passenger (who died later), was fatally injured in an effort to subdue him, police said.

Nyanza Regional Police Commander Patrick Tito said the firearm with three live rounds among other items was recovered from him.

He attempted to shoot at the officers prompting a shootout which left him dead.

“The team was tracking him down and managed to get him in a guest house he had checked in. He resisted to open and opened fire prompting the team to respond fatally,” said Tito.

The incident happened at about mid-day on Thursday, October 31.

This increased to two, the number of the suspects killed so far in the saga.
Police say they are looking for at least two more suspects over the murder of Ayieko.

Police say they have established Oduor was a boxer and a wanted criminal.

The team has established he and his gang abducted Ayieko on the road and took him to a house in the area where they held him for days demanding money and other valuables.

They hit his head against a wall causing serious and deadly injuries as they demanded his cooperation.

The owner of the house was grilled over the incident.

Another suspect who had been injured in a shootout in Gem died in hospital on Wednesday morning.

The suspect, who had been rushed to a hospital in Yala, Siaya County, succumbed to the injuries she sustained in a police shooting in Wangai, Gem.

According to police, she was among two female suspects earlier arrested on Wednesday morning in a dramatic chase.

Police in Siaya, Gem Wagai sub-county, recovered a pistol belonging to Ayieko.
This firearm had been robbed from him on the night he was murdered.

The recovery was made following a tip-off from members of the public, reporting that two individuals—one male and one female—were seen with a gun in a Toyota Axio at Wagai Trading Centre.

Responding, officers from Wagai Police Station flagged down the suspect’s vehicle, but the male driver defied the orders and instead opened fire on the police while speeding off towards Luanda, police said.

This prompted a hot chase that ended at Adder Farm within Kagilo area, where the vehicle lost control and rolled over on the left side of the road.

The driver managed to escape, leaving behind the female passenger, who was injured and unconscious.

It is the driver who was killed in Kisumu on Thursday.

Upon searching the vehicle, police recovered a pistol loaded with 11 rounds of ammunition, which was identified as the firearm robbed from Ayieko.

The woman was taken to a hospital in Yala, but sadly, she succumbed to her injuries hours later, police said.

 A heightened pursuit of the fleeing suspect led Gem Yala detectives to his rented house at Sagam Trading Centre within Kanyibwop village, where a jungle green sweater  and military pair of shorts, two pairs of desert storm jungle boots, two TV sets (40" and 32") a HP laptop and Rolex watch among others were recovered.

Detectives were pursuing at least six suspects in connection with the murder of Ayieko.

So far four have been arrested with one of them being placed at the scene of the attack. Two of them died following a gunfight.

Director of Directorate of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin said they are targeting a gang of six to seven people. He said the motive is yet to be known.

 “We are targeting a gang of six to seven people and we are zeroing in on them,” he said.
He added detectives are now searching for more known suspects in connection with the abduction, robbery with violence and murder of Ayieko.

Among those in custody include Ouma who was arrested in Nairobi’s Dandora estate and was presented at the Siaya Law Courts on Wednesday.

Investigators were granted 21 days to detain the suspect as part of their probe.
Police said Ouma was placed at the crime scene through forensic analysis.

He is also said to have made transactions via Ayieko’s mobile phone. He used the mobile phone to withdraw money from his account.

It was after his arrest on Monday night that police laid an ambush for more accomplices in a dramatic shooting the saw the arrest of two women.

An autopsy on Ayieko’s body revealed that the Wells Fargo HR manager died due to injuries on his head caused by blunt force trauma.

 The deceased went missing after attending a burial in Siaya, and his body was later discovered at a river on the border of Siaya and Kakamega counties.

Ayieko’s body was discovered in Mungowere stream in Yala, Siaya County on October 23 at 2 pm.

The family had reported he was missing on October 21. The killers then drove his car to Sabatia area, in Kakamega which is a few kilometers away and abandoned it on the roadside.

Ayieko went missing on October 18 after attending a burial vigil event in Gem, Siaya County.