Man blows himself up, kills couple
A sombre mood engulfed Kamloma village in Nyakach, Kisumu county, yesterday after a terror suspect detonated an explosive device killing himself and a couple.
The suspect identified as John Odhiambo Ondiek alias Pope is said to have killed himself, Mzee Petro Onyango, 54, and his wife Mary Atieno, 40, using an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on Tuesday night, between 7pm and 8pm.
Police said the suspected terrorist went to Onyango’s homestead and found him seated outside his house with his wife (Atieno) and their 14-year-old daughter Nancy Aoko and engaged them in a conversation before the IED exploded. They are neighbours.
Suicide bomber
A report filed at Katito Police Station indicated the suspected suicide bomber, began interrogating the family on matters they could not comprehend, when the IED he was carrying went off, killing him and Atieno on the spot.
Onyango and his daughter; who were seriously injured were rushed to Nyakach Sub-County hospital at Pap Onditi where the former was pronounced dead on arrival.
The minor is currently fighting for her life at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu, where was transferred for treatment. The bodies are being preserved at Pap Onditi mortuary.
According to the police, the suspect had on December 17 last year, detonated an IED at Katito township while allegedly trying to kill his girlfriend in a rented house. The girl, however, escaped unhurt.
After the Katito incident, the suspect disappeared to an unknown location, only to resurface on Tuesday.
Area chief Daniel Orwa said the suspected suicide bomber; who is in his mid-30s, had been away from the village for more than 15 years, with his whereabouts not known before he briefly came back last year and disappeared again.
A team of police officers drawn from the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit in Kisumu County and those from the Bomb Disposal Unit visited the scene to start investigations.
Nyanza regional police commander Karanja Muiruri said experts are handling the incident, terming it an act of terrorism.
“We are trying to establish the whereabouts of the suspect over the past months. Our officers are treating the matter with the seriousness it deserves,” Karanja said.
