One of the main suspects in the murder of Wells Fargo director Willis Ayieko had been involved in several violent robberies, including the January 27 fatal shooting of a female M-Pesa agent in Kisumu earlier this year.
The father of the slain suspect who positively identified the body at the mortuary has told the detectives that the son’s real name is Robert Wakolo Okoth adding that his aliases, depending on whom you asked, were George Oduor Okoth and Kim.
“A national ID card retrieved from a police exhibit store for wanted criminals earlier seized during a security operation, and a report obtained from the National Registration Bureau (NRB) confirmed the father’s claim,” the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said yesterday.
Okoth was shot dead in a security operation and a firearm, a Smith and Wesson pistol, recovered. He was ambushed by detectives in his hideout at Mulberry Guest House, opposite Kisumu National Polytechnic. He had earlier escaped a police dragnet leaving behind a rolling vehicle and a seriously injured female passenger, who later died.
The body of Willis Ayieko was found in a stream in Gem, Siaya county. He had gone missing on October 18 after attending a funeral in Gem and his vehicle found abandoned at a petrol station in Sabatia, Vihiga county.
Ayieko is said to have left the funeral to spend the night at his home but it is suspected that he was abducted by unknown people who killed him. Police later recovered his licenced firearm.
The recovery was made following a tip-off from members of the public, reporting that two individuals—one male and one female—were seen with a gun in a Toyota Axio at Wagai Trading Centre.
Responding, officers from Wagai Police Station flagged down the suspect’s vehicle, but the male driver defied the orders and instead opened fire while speeding off towards Luanda.
This prompted a hot chase that ended at Adder Farm within Kagilo area, where the vehicle lost control and rolled over on the left side of the road.
The driver however managed to escape, leaving behind the female passenger, who was unconscious.
Upon searching the vehicle, police recovered a pistol loaded with 11 rounds of ammunition, which was identified as Ayieko’s.
The woman was taken to a hospital in Yala, but sadly succumbed.
