This could be significant: a Kenyan newspaper has actually published some of the truths surrounding the murder of Dr Robert Ouko and raised interesting questions that in the past have been suppressed. The Standard on Sunday ran the opinion piece, Why these questions must be answered in solving mystery of Ouko murder, in its ‘Take it or leave it’ column last weekend.

Regular Kenya Forum readers will know that we have made quite a study of the Ouko murder, expressing serious doubts as to the publicly available accounts as to what really happened and the manner in which the story has been told, or rather, how more often the true story has not been told (read, The murder of Dr Robert Ouko: Why it matters and what really happened, 6 February, 2011).

The Standard on Sunday article covers much of this ground but goes even further.

Robert Ouko’s murder: British detective’s theories that are long disproved

The article, published to coincide with the anniversary of the day Dr Ouko’s body was officially found in February 1990 near his Koru farm (it had been discovered by a local herdsboy three days before but he did not report the fact to the police) states that some of the British Scotland Yard detective John Troon’s theories as to motives for the murder have been disproved, as the Kenya Forum pointed out in September 2011 in its article,

Kisumu molasses project theory demolished

The article goes on to demolish the ‘Kisumu Molasses project theory’, that Ouko was killed to cover up corruption allegations surrounding the rehabilitation of the Kisumu Molasses plant. The article also discredited the sources of that theory: Domenico Airaghi and Marianne Briner-Mattern, supposedly directors of a company called BAK. The Kenya Forum too has written on this subject, for example in the article, ‘In defence of Biwott’s alleged involvement in Molasses plant scandal‘ (18 September, 2012).

Washington trip theory for why Robert Ouko was murdered, also destroyed

On it went to destroy the ‘Washington trip theory’. This is the theory that Dr Ouko had met with President Bush during a visit by a Kenyan delegation led by President Moi to Washington, and/or that he embarrassed Moi during a press conference, The subsequently enraged Moi, the theory suggests, then goes on to sack, banish and murder Robert Ouko.

The Standard on Sunday’s article pointed out that there was no evidence of a row and that there was overwhelming evidence that Ouko and Bush never met on the trip, as the Kenya Forum has written before in ‘TJRC’S dramatic Robert Ouko murder finding: why was it not reported?’

New allegations

What the Standard on Sunday article brought into the public domain were new allegations, apparently backed by documents recently released under US Freedom of Information laws, that suggest:

1. Kenyan “interlocutors” approached the US Embassy in Nairobi a soon as a week after Ouko’s murder to misdirect the murder investigation;
2. That one or more of these “interlocutors” may have been the murderer or murderers;
3. That, allegedly, a “deal” was struck between US authorities and two, at one time, suspects in the case – DC Jonah Anguka and Barrack Mbajah, {Mbajah being] Dr Ouko’s ‘estranged brother’;
4. That the British High Commission knew that ‘senior judges’ in Kenya were going to review Troon’s ‘Final Report’ to make ‘quite sure no surprises emerge’.

As the article concluded, many questions need to be answered (and it raises some very interesting ones). If this is the case, and the true story of Dr Ouko’s murder is to be told but, at least, says the Kenya Forum, these questions are now being asked.