Wife, brother of missing lawyer record statements
Police officers listen to John Talam, elder brother to lawyer Simon Lilans office in Eldoret town onJanuary 18, 2017. The family claims the office was broken into on Tuesday night, after they found the door partially open, in the morning. A guard said he saw two people jump over the fence into the compound, and fled moments later. Police are investigating the matter. Lilan who disappeared mysteriously had gone to court to stop the burial of the late former Nominated MP Mark Too. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The lawyer went missing on January 9, the day former nominated MP Mark Too was buried.
- Mr Lilan had claimed Mr Too was assassinated and wanted the actual cause of his death established before his burial.
The whereabouts of Eldoret-based lawyer Simon Lilan remain a mystery, nine days after he went missing.
The lawyer’s wife Irene Lilan and his elder brother John Talam recorded statements with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations after they were summoned by police.
Eldoret West police boss Samuel Mutunga said their statements will help unravel the circumstances under which the lawyer disappeared.
Mr Mutunga said the lawyer’s wife said in her statement that her husband was appeared unsettled a day before he went missing.
She claimed that her husband started wearing shorts and a cap at home, something he had never done and which puzzled the family.
The lawyer went missing on January 9, the day former nominated MP Mark Too was buried at his Maziwa Farm in Uasin Gishu County.
PHONE SWITCHED OFF
According to Mr Mutunga, on the material day, Mr Lilan had stormed the police station in the morning demanding to be given police officers to escort him to the late veteran politician’s home to serve a court order stopping the burial ceremony.
“I remember telling him that it was too late to be provided with the police escort to the late MP’s home since we had already deployed our officers to the burial site to provide security,” said Mr Mutunga.
Mr Mutunga said the lawyer’s phone has been switched off making it difficult to trace him.
“The lawyer’s family members, including his father, were here on Monday seeking information on the progress of the search, we told them be patient,” said Mr Mutunga.
He said they have circulated details of the missing lawyer to other police stations in the North Rift region.
POWERFUL PEOPLE
Addressing reporters on Monday last week, just hours before disappearing, Mr Lilan claimed that his life was in danger, saying that some powerful people wanted to eliminate him over his claims that the late Too was assassinated.
He had asked the government to provide him with enough security.
Mr Lilan had claimed Mr Too was assassinated and wanted the actual cause of his death established before his burial.
In a sworn affidavit, Mr Lilan claimed Mr Too was murdered and there were external forces seeking to conceal the cause of his death.
He had obtained a court order stopping the burial, but the burial went on after Mr Too’s family obtained another order allowing them to proceed with the ceremony.
Mr Too died on New Year’s Eve at St Luke's Orthopaedic and Trauma Hospital in Eldoret of what doctors said were heart-related complications.
