Mystery woman in Tuju’s love rival death

By Moses Michira and Cyrus Ombati

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Tony Ogunda, an ex-GSU man thought to have been murdered recently, had impregnated one of his lovers, causing a storm in his adulterous relationship with the wife of one-time presidential hopeful Raphael Tuju.

Cosmas Okoth, a relative of the Tujus, has told the police that Tony’s death may be linked to differences he had with a girlfriend.

“The woman is about three months pregnant but Ogunda seemed not to want the pregnancy,” he told police.

Another close friend of Tony’s, who requested anonymity, alleged that Ruth Akinyi, Tuju’s wife, who was romantically linked to the deceased, was also unhappy with the other woman in the picture. It is believed that before Tony’s death, a meeting had been arranged to sort out the differences.

To complicate the equation, is a woman identified as Esther, a mother of one who claimed to be Tony’s abandoned wife. In a strange twist of events, Ruth has in the past been said to have offered to pay for Esther’s upkeep.

“I cannot talk at the moment, please contact me later,” Esther told The Nairobian this week when we sought an interview.

Ruth and Tony are listed as defendants in a separation suit filed by Tuju in the High Court,  a story which was first broken by The Nairobian in March.

A close friend of Tony, who requested not to be named, has also alleged that Ruth had wanted the other woman’s pregnancy terminated. The source further alleges that Ruth had reduced the financial support to her boyfriend until the differences were resolved.

In his affidavit filed in court in February, Tuju pleads he does not want to give Ruth a lot of money in monthly maintenance as she would only use this to “maintain her jobless young man” (Tony). He offers to pay her Sh200,000 and continue paying her balance of the Sh180,000 bank car loan in two monthly instalments of Sh90,000. He also offers to pay for any medical bills her wife may incur in seeking medical help for what he refers to as her ‘behavioural problems’.

In the court documents filed earlier in the year, the politician, who was once Kenya’s Foreign minister, also accuses Ruth of renting a house for her young lover in Ngong. 

Our source, who was close to Tony, now says: “She was hardly supporting him anymore because Tony was adamant that his girlfriend would not abort.”

“Pocket money had been reduced to Sh500 but she would still pay all the bills when she was with Tony. She also bought him clothes and shoes. He was visibly stressed,” said our source, who claimed to have been housing Oguda on and off since early this year.

Previously, the big-spending Tony was living in a house allegedly paid for by Ruth. He was also a loan shark in Ngong. Further, the ex-GSU man was facing accusations of involvement in printing fake currency, a practice known as ‘wash wash’.

The friend disclosed that Tony had been distressed before his death and had taken to drinking — a fact confirmed by lawyer Cliff Ombeta, who was Tony in various court cases.

Tony, our source reveals, had spent the last evening of his life with the other woman in a city bar. He later retired to the servants’ quarters in the Hope Foundation compound in Upper Hill, which is linked to Tuju. Cosmas Okoth, who hosted Tony, has been questioned by police over the death.

Ruth and her eldest son, Mano, 30, are said to live elsewhere in the Upper Hill neighbourhood while her husband and their twin daughters are thought to live in their massive Karen home.

Tony had an ongoing trespass case after he was accused of entering one of Tuju’s property in Upper Hill against a court order barring him from doing so. In March, Tuju had also accused Tony of threatening him. The court case was yet to be determined.

Family sources revealed that Ruth was inconsolable upon learning the death of Tony. Our attempts to reach her were unsuccessful as her phone had been switched off.

But George Otieno, a close friend of Tony, admitted that the ex-GSU man had a steady girlfriend but she was not pregnant. 

“The woman is not pregnant. We were together last week on Wednesday with Tony and I am not aware they had differences. Those are lies,” said Otieno.

He also added: “Of course Tony loved women like any other man but none should say at this stage she was the cause of the death. Tony was murdered.”

Another friend suspects that Tony may have used sexual performance enhancement drugs because he had multiple partners.

Otieno alleges that last week Ruth went to a house in Umoja where Tony lived and demanded some of her belongings.

Otieno said he, Tony, Okoth and a group of others had in the past two weeks been on a drinking spree.

At Relax bar — where Tony was said to have been before his death — staff customers and prostitutes who plied their trade at the venue said he was a regular.

“Cosmas has been buying us alcohol but he did not drink himself and we do not know why. On Sunday we even had a bash in the same house where the body was found,” said Otieno.

Otieno added the broken door of one of the houses in the compound went down last week when he and other friends had a confrontation.

Tony died out of head injuries that were caused by a blunt object. After Tony was found dead, Kilimani police boss Bernard Muli said they found a bottle labelled Humalog 1DNA 100gm with a syringe next to the body.

The medicine is used to treat diabetes, but Tony’s mother, Margaret Ogunda, and friends said he had no such medical condition and the bottle could have been planted there to divert attention.

Ogunda joined the General Service Unit in 2008 and was dismissed in 2010 after two kidnapped victims were found in his house in Ruaraka area.

A post mortem report by government pathologist Dr Peter Ndegwa revealed: “He had trauma to his head which is consistent with a blunt force. The deceased had internal bleeding to the brain,” said

GSU commandant William Saiya confirmed Tony was sacked for gross misconduct.

“As much as the matter did not end up in court, he was dismissed for serious misconduct,” said Saiya.

The mysterious pregnant woman adds to the leads the police may follow to unravel the mystery of the death.