Court detains 4 over Obamana Links Stage manager’s murder
A Nairobi court has detained four persons linked to the murder of Dickson Otieno Ombaka, manager of Obamana Links Limited stage, situated at the Temple Road–Uyoma Street junction within Nairobi County.
The Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had sought to detain Oloo Ogumbo, Duncan Ochola, Vitalis Owino, and Ochieng Ojwang for 21 days to enable them to complete investigations into the murder of the stage manager.
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Milimani Principal Magistrate Benmark Ekhubi on Friday, August 8, 2025, granted the DPP five days instead of the 21 days they were seeking.
Magistrate Ekhubi ordered the four to be remanded at Kamukunji Police Station until August 14, 2025, when the case will be mentioned.
“The suspects will be remanded at Kamukunji Police Station for a period of five days. The matter will be mentioned on Thursday, August 14, 2025, before the duty court for further orders,” Magistrate Ekhubi ruled.
Through a miscellaneous application, Police Constable Pwoka Mauka, an investigator attached to DCI Kamukunji, stated that he is investigating Ogumbo, Ochola, Owino, and Ochieng in a case of murder contrary to Section 203 as read with Section 204 of the Penal Code, Chapter 63, Laws of Kenya.
According to Officer Mauka, on August 2, 2025, the four men—while on duty at the Obamana Sacco stage—attacked and fatally stabbed the deceased, who was also at work at Obamana Links Limited, which is adjacent to their workstation.
He further stated that there has been a rise in incidents stemming from fights over passenger dropping and picking spaces, which have left several individuals with fatal stab wounds.
He told the court that urgent action is necessary to prevent further loss of life within the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD).
“There are various incidents of fighting over passenger dropping and picking spaces, which have resulted in fatal injuries by stabbing.
These incidents have become a growing area of concern because they are now chronic and should be dealt with with the seriousness they deserve so as to curb the loss of life within the Nairobi CBD,” the prosecution stated.
He also informed the court that his findings so far reveal that other perpetrators are still at large, and the release of the respondents (Oloo, Ochola, Owino, and Ojwang) may interfere with their arrest, thus compromising justice for the victims.
The prosecution further argued that the respondents are flight risks because they do not have known fixed abodes, making it difficult to trace and re-arrest them if released.
The State also told the court that during the proposed 21-day detention, they intended to conduct an identification parade for the respondents, allowing witnesses who were present at the scene during the attack to identify them.
Additionally, the DPP informed the court that they need to subject the respondents to mental assessment at the forensic psychiatric clinic at Kenyatta National Hospital.
The defence lawyer opposed the 21-day detention, urging the court to consider that the accused are family men who serve as sole breadwinners.
According to Constable Mauka’s supporting affidavit, a report was made by Omondi Ombaka, a brother to the deceased, stating that he had received a distress call informing him that his brother had been stabbed and rushed to a hospital along Juja Road.
“It was reported by one Omondi Ombaka, a brother to the deceased, vide OB No. 04/03/08/2025, at 01:35 hours, that he was contacted by a stage attendant at Obamana stage situated at Temple Road–Uyoma Street, informing him that his brother (the deceased), namely Otieno Ombaka, had been stabbed and rushed to MSF Hospital along Juja Road,” part of the affidavit read.
The brother then rushed to the said facility and found that his brother had already succumbed to the stab wound, which caused excessive bleeding.
The prosecution stated that preliminary investigations have revealed a long-standing conflict between Obamana Sacco and Obamana Links Limited over dropping and picking spaces along Temple Road near the Uyoma Street junction.
Further, it revealed that the two public service vehicle (PSV) saccos were once a single entity before a breakaway group rebranded as Obamana Links Limited, subsequently claiming the passenger picking and dropping spaces they initially operated from.
