- The governor said the investigation was smeared with so much politics, and that the police were directed to target her sister Miriam, brother Guantai or husband Baichu.
- He was strangled to death, according to the autopsy by government pathologist Johansen Oduor.
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Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza has accused the police of taking orders from politicians in their investigations into the killing of blogger Daniel Muthiani, alias Sniper.
She said the probe was predetermined to frame her family members.
Mwangaza's brother, Murangiri Kenneth Guantai, also known as Tali, is among two individuals that the police have recommended be charged in connection with the killing.
Also to face murder charges is Vincent Mureithi Kirimi alias Supuu.
Guantai, a police officer, is among the last people to have spoken to Sniper on phone before his death.
Mwangaza said she has evidence the blogger spoke to many other people who are not being mentioned or linked to the death.
“Did snipper only call my brother on that day and no one else? On that day many people called him, why are the rest not called to write statements?” she said.
“He (sniper) also spoke with someone to the last minute for over 15 minutes. When he wrote a statement why was his name not made public, only those linked to the governor?"
She appeared to link a senior county official to the murder, saying the plan was to instead frame her.
The governor said the investigation was smeared with so much politics, and that the police were directed to target her sister Miriam, brother Guantai or husband Baichu.
She called for justice for Sniper.
The governor also accused a Cabinet Secretary of dragging her family into the murder probe.
“I am not a nominated governor, I am fully elected. If you want Meru politics, come in 2027. We have been quiet for long but not anymore,” she said.
The governor also said she will be seeking damages from individuals she says have implicated her.
The blogger disappeared on December 2, 2023, before his body was recovered dumped in a thicket on the banks of River Mutonga in Tharaka Nithi County on December 16.
He was strangled to death, according to the autopsy by government pathologist Johansen Oduor.
Oduor said Sniper had marks on his neck and he exhibited signs of a person who had lacked oxygen.
He also had fractured ribs and showed injuries on his head which suggested he was strangled before being thrown into a river.
Officials picked up DNA samples to confirm he was the one since his body had already decomposed.
The examination of the body showed there were no defence injuries thus raising questions on whether he was subdued to a level where he could not defend himself.
The pathologist confirmed that Sniper's body parts were intact.