Editor's Review

The blogger disappeared on December 2, and his body was discovered on December 16, 2023.

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has made fresh claims over the gruesome murder of the Meru-based blogger Daniel Muthiani commonly known as Sniper.

In a statement published on Friday, December 29, Kuria alleged that the murder of the blogger was connected to the stigmatization of the youth in the Mt Kenya region.

The lawmaker decried over what he said was the labeling of youth from the region as members of gangs and even the outlawed Mungiki group.

Kuria blamed unnamed leaders from the region who he argued had assumed the roles of kingpins.

File photo of Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria. PHOTO | COURTESY

However, Kuria vowed to advocate for justice following the murder of the blogger.

"The disappearance of Meru-based human rights and political activist Snipper is not something to be taken for granted. Verily, verily I say unto the one responsible- You will not get away with this. I will pursue this matter to the bitter end," he made it clear.

"The cold-blooded murder of Snipper is in line with the continued profiling and stigmatization of Mt Kenya youth, branding them as members of Mungiki and other outlawed gangs. When the threshold of what is legit Humanitarian standards fall this low, the outcome is what you see. Now tell your fake Kingpins to live with the ignominy of their short-termism. I will never do anything for the political expediency of the moment. Forgive me for the outburst. I am very upset."

Kuria joined blogger Dennis Itumbi who had called on various investigative authorities to get to the bottom of the matter. Itumbi called out both the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

In response, DPP noted that his office is yet to receive a file over the gruesome murder of the blogger.

 A postmortem examination of the body revealed that he died after being strangled on the neck.

According to the pathologist, Sniper had marks on his neck and he exhibited signs of a person who had lacked oxygen.

Also, he had fractured ribs and showed injuries on his head which suggested that he was strangled before being thrown into a river.

The blogger disappeared on December 2, and his body was discovered on December 16, 2023.