President Ruto vows justice for Meru blogger Sniper

President William Ruto has vowed that those who are responsible for the murder of Meru blogger Daniel Muthiani alias Sniper must be brought to justice. 

Ruto while speaking on Friday in Meru, said the government is following up on the case. 

"Kwa hayo maneno ya huyo kijana Sniper, serikali tumeamrisha mpaka wale walimuua huyo kijana wapatikane  ndo wapate adabu ya sheria." he said. 

Which loosely translates to (In the case of that young man Snipper, the government is following up on the case till those that took his life are arrested so that they face the law.)

"Mambo ya wananchi kupoteza maisha yao haiwezi kuendelea katika taifa ya Kenya," he said. 

(Cases of Kenyans losing their lives through murder can not continue in this country.) 

This was after Senate Deputy Speaker Kathuri Murungi pleaded with Ruto to have the probe into the murder of the Meru blogger expedited.

“You Excellency, we have a young man called Sniper who lives not far from here and he has not been buried…because you are our leader we want to request you to ensure he gets justice,” Murungi said.

Governor Kawira Mwangaza's brother, Murangiri Kenneth Guantai, also known as Tali, is among two individuals that the police 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 the 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?"

The governor said the investigation was smeared with so much politics.

She called for justice for Sniper.

Sniper disappeared on December 2 before his body was discovered on December 16, 2023.

An autopsy examination conducted on the body of the deceased at the Marimanti Level 4 Hospital mortuary in Tharaka Nithi County revealed that he died of strangulation.

Government pathologist Johansen Oduor said Sniper had marks on his neck and exhibited signs of a person who had lacked oxygen.

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