Hillary Ololdapash murder: Family demands fresh probe after 3 suspects freed
Shoddy investigations could have led to the acquittal of suspects linked to the murder of prominent Narok businessman Hillary Leken Ololdapash.
The body of Hillary Ololdapash was found in on Muslim Graveyard Road in Narok town on September 20.
The businessman was brutally killed by criminals and his body dumped behind a drinking joint in the town.
The murder happened amid a spate of other killings, sending shockwaves among residents in the town.
As his family and friends were struggling to come to terms with the murder, police arrested three suspects, who according to witness statements filed in court, were in the company of the deceased and were captured by CCTV cameras leaving the murder scene hours before the body was discovered.
The three were later arraigned, but were acquitted this week over what the court claimed was lack of sufficient evidence.
On Monday, a Narok court freed Daniel Rosikan, 26, Nicholas Omollo, 33, and Melie Sankok, 34, after investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations failed to link them to the murder.
?Upon considering the application by the prosecution counsel, the suspects are hereby acquitted. They should be set free as there was no evidence implicating them in the murder," ruled Resident Magistrate Daniel Ngayo.
Ololdapash family protested the decision, accusing the police of shoddy investigations that left left out crucial evidence.
Led by the father of the deceased, Prof Meitamei Ololdapash, the family questioned why CCTV footage that allegedly captured the three suspects in the company of the deceased heading to the murder scene before they left without the businessman was not presented in court.
While investigating the murder, the Narok detectives visited Talek Bar, which is adjacent to the spot where the body of the deceased was found and requested to view the said CCTV footage.
Prof Ololdapash expressed dissatisfaction over the acquittal and demanded fresh investigations into the murder.
?We feel abandoned. I want Justice for my son Hillary. Why did the police not present the CCTV cameras footage in court?? said Prof Ololdapash.
?How can they let them go when they were seen with my son? It?s as if his life doesn't matter.?
Narok County head of prosecutions Gitonga Murang?a said proper evidence is required before charging a murder suspect.
?There has to be enough grounds of linking the suspect to the murder or else we will be charging the wrong people and leaving the real criminals to continue with their dirty game,? he said.
