‘It was a hit-and-run accident,’ Kabogo says on Mercy Keino’s death

ICT Cabinet Secretary (CS) nominee William Kabogo has addressed long-standing allegations surrounding the mysterious death of Nairobi University student Mercy Keino.

Keino’s body was found dumped along Waiyaki Way in June 2011, shortly after attending a party allegedly hosted by the former Kiambu Governor.

Additional reports at the time suggested that Kabogo and Keino may have had a falling out before her demise, sparking numerous rumours surrounding the incident, including speculation of a possible cover-up.

Speaking when he appeared before the National Assembly’s Committee on Appointments for vetting on Tuesday, Kabogo shared his perspective on the incident, reiterating his innocence and describing Keino’s passing as tragic.

According to Kabogo, he was implicated in the incident simply because he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“The 2011 issue of Mercy Keino, is a very tragic story. It is alleged that I invited people to a party, Mr. Speaker that is not true. This is just a situation where you find yourself at a place at the wrong time,” said Kabogo.

“It was a public place, a restaurant and there were several groups of people in that place Mr. Speaker and the issue of the death of Mercy Keino, came to me two weeks after she had been buried and even if I met her the following day, I never would have noticed her.”

Further, Kabogo referenced the inquest that was launched to investigate Keino’s mysterious death, noting that he was exonerated as a person of interest after being interrogated and cross-examined by authorities probing the young woman’s murder.

He added that the inquest revealed that Keino died in a hit-and-run accident.

“It is a sad story; a Kenyan life was lost but I sincerely and truly had nothing to do with it. Suffice to say Mr. Speaker, an inquest was done at Milimani Magistrates Court…it took about a year and a half and all persons of interest were invited even those who had not been there including myself,” Kabogo said.

“I managed to sit there for six days for cross examination and I was exonerated by the judgement of the court, a court that made a finding that the late Mercy Keino was a victim of a hit and run by a truck and that the matter rests there.”

Kabogo also sympathized with Keino’s family, expressing hope that someday her killer would turn himself in and answer for his actions.

“I sympathise with the family of Mercy Keino, may her soul rest in peace but I am certain that as a god-fearing child, I believe that one day the truck driver or whoever it was that was in the truck that killed Mercy Keino will come out and say that I kept quiet but I did it and I hope that day will come,” he said.

According to government pathologist Johansen Oduor, Keino “sustained fatal injuries before her death but acquired more as she passed on.”