Tag: Willis Ayieko

A protected witness has provided chilling testimony revealing how he unknowingly assisted in the kidnapping and murder of former Wells Fargo HR manager Willis Ayieko Onyango for a mere Sh9,000 payment.

In testimony delivered before court on Monday under the Witness Protection Agency program, the motorcycle rider painted a disturbing picture of how he was recruited into what would become one of Kenya’s most shocking corporate executive murders.

The witness told the court that Victor Ouma Okoth, alias Sisco or Govins—the first accused in the case—had contacted him seeking motorcycle transport services for what was described only as “a job” coordinated by someone called Champee, now deceased and believed to be a key mastermind in the murder plot.

According to the witness’s testimony, Sisco was deliberately vague about the assignment details, promising only “good payment” in exchange for providing a motorcycle and remaining on standby.

The witness said he was told to fuel the bike and wait for instructions, with Sisco assuring him the job would be straightforward.

The operation began to unfold on October 18, 2024, when Sisco called to confirm the motorcycle was ready.

The witness was instructed to meet at 5:30 PM in Dudi, but when he mentioned the bike needed fuel, Sisco directed him to a local station and promised to pay via mobile money after receiving the till number.

What started as a routine transport job quickly took a sinister turn.

After refueling, the witness was redirected from the original Dudi meeting point to Mutumbu Centre, where he found Sisco and two other men drinking at Amigos Pub.

One of them was introduced as Champee.

The witness described how the group’s demeanor shifted dramatically during the evening.

After following Champee’s motorcycle to a secluded area, both Sisco and Champee disappeared into darkness, only to return transformed—Champee now wore a U.S. military-style jacket and carried an AK-47 rifle, while Sisco donned a black jacket and was similarly armed.

The armed group then proceeded to a homestead where a funeral service was taking place.

While the witness waited outside as instructed, Sisco and Champee entered the compound, later emerging in a vehicle with Champee at the wheel.

In perhaps the most damning part of his testimony, the witness recounted observing the actual abduction of Willis Ayieko.

He described seeing the accused lead a man with his head covered by a sack and hands cuffed behind his back toward a mud-walled house along a murram road.

Sisco, according to the witness, held a gun and directed the victim’s movements.

The witness said he remained unaware of the victim’s identity at the time, only learning later through DCI officers that the person he saw being forced into the house was the murdered Wells Fargo executive.

Following the abduction, around 11:00 PM, Sisco requested transport to Kisumu to withdraw money.

The witness described searching for open M-Pesa shops, eventually finding one where Sisco used “a stylish foldable phone” to make several withdrawals—presumably to pay for the night’s services.

After dropping Sisco back in Dudi at 6:00 AM on October 19, the witness returned the motorcycle and went home to sleep, exhausted from the all-night operation.

Later that same day, Sisco returned with a pickup truck to collect his belongings, claiming he had secured employment in Nairobi and was relocating immediately.

The witness maintained throughout his testimony that he was unaware anyone had been killed during the incident.

He told the court he only learned of the murder after his arrest by Directorate of Criminal Investigations officers, claiming he believed he was simply providing transport services for what he assumed was legitimate business.

This testimony provides crucial evidence in the prosecution’s case against those accused of murdering the former Wells Fargo Human Resources manager, whose body was found days after his disappearance from a funeral in Siaya County.

The case continues as investigators work to unravel the full extent of the conspiracy that led to Ayieko’s brutal murder, with the protected witness’s testimony offering the first detailed account of how the victim was tracked, abducted, and ultimately killed.

Detectives have made an additional arrest in the ongoing investigation into the murder of Willis Ayieko Onyango, a former Human Resource Manager at Wells Fargo. The suspect, identified as Otieno Omondi, was apprehended in Kisumu and is believed to have played a significant role in the events preceding the tragic incident, police said. Omondi, a motorcycle rider, is alleged to have provided transport for Victor Ouma, also known as Sisco, to the location where Ayieko was abducted, police say investigations have shown.

He told police he took Ouma to the murder scene and that he was paid Sh9,000 for the work.

He added Ouma wore a blue jacket at the time. CCTV footage at various places captures Ouma in the jacket.

The suspect added Ouma took him to a house in Gem where the victim was being detained and came out with a Samsung mobile phone, which they used in the transactions.

Victor Ouma Okoth is currently in police custody and has been linked to the crime, alongside his deceased brother, Robert Wakolo Okoth, as well as other yet-to-be-identified individuals. The investigation is ongoing, with the DCI actively pursuing several leads to ascertain the full circumstances surrounding the murder.

Police say Wakolo had been involved in several violent robberies, including the fatal shooting of a female Mpesa agent in Kisumu on January 27, 2024. The father of the slain suspect who positively identified the body at the mortuary told the detectives that the son’s real name is Robert Wakolo Okoth.

He added that his alias names, based on who 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. Okoth was shot dead in a security operation and a firearm, a Smith and Walter pistol, recovered from him.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, was fatally injured to subdue him.Police said the suspect hailed from the Rai area of Nyamasaria in Kisumu County.

Detectives who had been profiling the hitherto unidentified robbery suspect linked the 34-year-old to a series of violent attacks. Wakolo allegedly shot dead Mpesa agent Grace Awino Odera on January 27 at Kibuye market near Hekima School in Lolwe. “In the incident, one suspect was arrested, and an AK 47 rifle earlier robbed from a Ugandan police officer was recovered. Also recovered was a Toyota Axio used by the suspects in the robbery. Robert Wakolo, however, managed to get away,” the DCI said. On May 3, 2024, detectives working on intelligence leads raided Robert’s home in Nyamasaria, recovering another AK 47 rifle, a magazine and 36 live rounds of ammunition.

Although he managed to escape, his 17-year-old younger brother and suspected accomplice were arrested and charged. Wakolo was also wanted by Kondele police for robbery with violence and possessing a magazine and ammunition. Ouma who was arrested in Nairobi’s Dandora estate was presented at the Siaya Law Courts on October 30.

Investigators were granted 21 days to detain the suspect as part of their probe. Police said Ouma was placed at the crime scene through forensic analysis.

He is also said to have made transactions via Ayieko’s mobile phone. He used the mobile phone to withdraw money from his account.

It was after his arrest that police laid an ambush for more accomplices in a dramatic shooting the saw the arrest of two women. One of them died later. The body of Willis Ayieko was found in a stream in Gem, Siaya County.

Ayieko went missing on October 18 after attending a funeral in Gem. The vehicle was found abandoned at a petrol station in Sabatia, Vihiga county. Ayieko had left the funeral to spend the night in his home but it is suspected that he was abducted by unknown people who killed him.

His hands were handcuffed behind his back, and the eyes and tongue had been gorged out.

Police in Gem Wagai sub-county, later recovered his pistol which he was robbed of the day he was killed.