Mother Of Slain IEBC Boss Chris Msando Dies
Her demise was announced on Friday, October 13 by Siaya Governor James Orengo in his condolence message to the family.
admin
The mother of slain Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) ICT manager Chris Msando is dead.
Her demise was announced on Friday, October 13 by Siaya Governor James Orengo in his condolence message to the family.
"My heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and relatives of the late IEBC ICT Manager Chris Msando for the passing on of their family matriarch Mama Maria Msando.
"Mama had a magnetic personality and ability to care deeply for others that allowed her to cultivate many lasting relationships. May her soul Rest in Eternal Peace," he stated on X (formerly Twitter).
A black and white photo of Mama Maria Msando (now deceased). /JAMES ORENGO
The Nation reported that Mama Maria's eldest son, Peter Msando, attributed her death at the age of 85 at Avenue Hospital in Kisumu to "multiple organ failure"
"She had been hospitalised in Busia with high blood pressure and a sugar problem. She was given some medicine to stabilise the pressure but it went so low and she became hypotensive," said Peter.
"She went into a coma on Thursday and we rushed her to Avenue Hospital in Kisumu where she was admitted to ICU around 1 p.m. on Thursday but unfortunately she passed away at 1 am today (Friday). So it was due to multiple organ failure."
Mama Maria had been ill since the death of her son. Speaking to the Nation newspaper at her Lifunga home in Ugenya, Siaya County, on the second anniversary of her son's death, she revealed that the long search for justice for her son had caused her health to deteriorate, with Chris, who used to take care of her medication, gone forever.
"I can hardly get out of this bed. My life has changed a lot - for the worse. For two years now, some questions still linger in my mind - who could have killed my beloved last-born son and why?" she stated in 2019.
Msando's body was found in a thicket in Kikuyu, Kiambu County, along with that of a woman, 21-year-old Carol Ngumbu.
"I have been waiting for the time when I will be called to court to hear the case of my son's murder. I just want to look the killers in the eye and hear the reasons why they killed him. If he stole something, let them say so. If they win the case against my son, let them. I won't mind as long as the legal process is exhausted," Mama Maria complained.
She continued, "I have heard on the radio that suspects in other murder cases have been arrested and charged. But why have those who killed my son not been arrested? What does the government know that we don't?"
Her demise is now considered a big blow to the family in their quest to seek justice for Msando. The man who had been tasked with being in charge of the Kenya Integrated Electoral Management System (KIEMS) ahead of the 2017 polls was found dead on July 31, just days before the August 8 polls.
"There was no doubt he was tortured and murdered," former immediate IEBC chairperson, Wafula Chebukati, said.
Msando was only two months into his job at IEBC's ICT division before his death. The murder remains one of Kenya's most high-profile unsolved cases.
