Policeman, son held over murder of lawyer in Athi River : The Standard

A policeman and his son were Wednesday arrested over the murder of lawyer Robert Chesang in Lukenya area, Machakos County. The officer who is in charge of Mutuini police post in Dagorreti was arrested after it emerged the car used to ferry the killers to Chesang’s house belongs to him, police said. Detectives from Athi River police visited Mutuini police station and confiscated eight AK47 rifles for ballistic tests as part of the probe into the murder. “We want to establish if any of the weapons was used in the murder. They are prime suspects for now,” said an officer aware of the probe.

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The suspects are not related to the deceased lawyer, police said citing preliminary findings. More suspects linked to the murder were being hunted Wednesday. Chesang was killed in cold blood by gunmen who raided his house at Moke Gardens in broad daylight on February 17. A post-mortem on the body showed he died out of profuse bleeding. He was shot at seven times. Police who attended the scene of the murder said they recovered seven spent cartridges of an AK47 rifle. Two cartridges were found in the house and five outside the window.

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A car that the gunmen used to the house and escape in was detained at Athi River police station and occupants who had it on Tuesday arrested. It was then that they said the owner was the police officer. Police say their colleague and his son had earlier been seen while driving in Athi River. The motive of the killing is yet to be established. Preliminary findings have shown the deceased had expressed fears over his life. He had not left his house for two days prior to his murder. Chesang had long running domestic dispute with his wife and had spilled to the courts. It is part of the investigations that police are focusing on.

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A guard on duty at the estate told police the two men arrived there at about 12.30 pm and held him hostage for a while as they demanded he leads them to Chesang’s house. When they arrived at the compound they knocked the door. Without knowledge on who they were he peeped through the window curtains when one of the gunmen opened fire killing him on the spot. The attackers then ran out without stealing anything from the deceased man and escaped in their car. They left the guard tied in a corner in the compound, police said. Police said they were called and informed of the shooting incident in the area by residents.  The officers jumped into the compound after finding the main gate locked where they peeped through the door and saw his body lying in a pool of blood in the living room. The guard was still tied there and was rescued.

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Chesang is said to have been alone at the house at the time of the incident.  The deceased’s wife is a magistrate of the High Court and she was not in the house.

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MurderCrimePolice OfficerAthi River