Body of slain Molo activist Richard Otieno moved to Kericho

The body of slain political activist Richard Otieno has been taken to the Kericho County Referral Hospital morgue after it was recovered from a thicket near the Molo River in Turi on Sunday night.

An irate mob earlier in the day stormed the Elburgon morgue where the body was initially preserved after being found at the gate of Elburgon police station.

The crowd forcefully took the body and headed towards Molo in protest while condemning the mysterious murder.

They barricaded the Molo-Elburgon-Nakuru road with stones and lit bonfires as they marched towards the home of Molo MP Kuria Kimani, but police barricaded the road towards the MP's home.

Molo sub-county Police Commander Timon Odingo on Monday told journalists that the body was later found with the help of sniffer dogs.

He said the officers probing the matter ferried it to the neighbouring Kericho County to impede any effort to access it by the public.

Otieno has been a vocal critic of both the national government and the constituency’s leadership led by MP Kimani.

His activism included participation in last year’s youth-led protests in Molo, where he was arrested for leading the demos.

Among those who have condemned his murder is former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua, who described it as part of a “pathetic and archaic strategy to silence government critics” amid a growing climate of fear.

Locals have meanwhile vowed to demonstrate until culprits are brought to book.