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Another Politician Murdered
- Details
- Published on Monday, 09 July 2007 00:33
He was strangled and his hands tied with ropes.Mr Asiko, a father of three, is a former director of the National Hospital Insurance Fund.His 15-year-old adopted son, who was in the house, escaped death by hiding under the bed.
His wife, Mary, who was attending a funeral in Nairobi, flew back home yesterday.Siaya police boss Polycarp Etyang said the incident was being treated as a case of robbery with violence.
"The gang stole a satellite dish, decoder and car radio," Mr Etyang said. "They could not have ransacked the house if they were only after his life."The police chief said the hunt for the gang had begun.
Mr Asiko tried his hand in parliamentary politics in 1979 but lost, finishing a poor fifth with 260 votes.He tried his luck again on the defunct National Development Party ticket in 1997 but was disqualified on a technicality. Mr Joe Donde won the seat in 1997.
The robbers gained entry into the compound through the fence and locked up the watchmen.
They then cut the window grills and entered the house.
His son said he heard screams as the robbers struggled with the politician.
Mrs Asiko said: "They argued with him for a long time. It is as if they were demanding something. They then tied a rope round his neck and strangled him."
"Even our bed was turned upside down. We are not speculating about the motive of the murder because my husband had not told us of any threats to his life," she said.
In Kisii, District Commissioner Osman Warfa said the suspect was the last person seen with Mr Magara before he was found murdered.
"The suspect was to drive Mr Magara to and from the home of another politician and they were together until very late," the DC said.
He said useful leads were expected from the suspect.
Mr Magara, who was the Bomachoge MP between 1988 and 1992, was found murdered on Sunday morning and his body dumped near his home in the outskirts of Kisii Town.
The former MP's family and local Ford People parliamentary candidate Joel Onyancha, who the murdered politician had allegedly gone to visit, have recorded statements with the CID.
His relatives said they suspected a political motive in the murder and asked the police to base their investigations on politics.
A brother said: "Our brother had gone public that he would campaign for Ford-P, a move that may not have gone down well with other parties."
