Didmus Barasa, Member of Parliament elect for Kimilili, was on Monday arraigned at the Bungoma Law Courts in an online hearing to face charges of murder.
Barasa is accused of shooting dead Brian Olunga, an aide of his main rival in the Kimilili MP race Brian Khaemba on the night of the August 9 General Election.
Based on police reports, Khaemba went to Chebukwabi polling station at around 6pm on election day to observe the tallying of votes.
He however bumped into Barasa at the polling station and a scuffle soon ensued between the pair, prompting Khaemba to leave the said polling centre.
Khaemba made his way to his vehicle but “Barasa followed him in the company of four men and ordered them not to allow him (Khaemba) to leave…”
Khaemba’s driver is however said to have defied Barasa’s order and ignited the vehicle, prompting the legislator to shoot Olunga in the head.
He succumbed to injuries while being taken to the hospital as the legislator went missing for two days before surrendering to the police on Thursday.
Barasa has since denied the allegations arraigned against him that he had knowingly opened fire and killed Olunga in cold blood, instead insisting that the events of the day of the said incident remain blurry even to him.
The police have detained him for more days to allow for investigations into the matter as they seek to ease the probing process.
“Prosecution asked for more time to allow more witnesses, including NYS & IEBC officials who were present at Chebukwabi Polling Station, to record statements, the detectives also need time to complete & present ballistic and postmortem reports,” ODPP said.
