Chris Msando’s Brother is Dead

The Msando family, already familiar with the pain of loss, faces yet another tragic moment as Cornel Peter Msando, brother of the late Chris Msando, former ICT manager at the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC), passed away on January 28, 2024, succumbing to a brief illness at MP Shah Hospital in Nairobi.

Peter’s obituary, published in local dailies, announced the sad news and revealed plans for his burial on February 10. The family, devastated by this loss, shared the announcement of his passing and informed the public about fundraising efforts to cover funeral expenses at All Saints Cathedral on February 6.

Leaving behind a widow and three children, Cornel Peter Msando’s funeral arrangements include a church service at Consolata Shrine Westlands on February 8, with the main mass and burial scheduled for February 10, 2024, at his late father’s home in Lifunga Kobiero Village, Ugenya, Siaya County.

This sorrowful event occurs just five months after the family laid to rest Msando’s mother, Mama Maria Msando, on October 13, 2023, six years after her son’s murder.

Her tragic death came without witnessing justice served for Chris, the man responsible for overseeing the Kenya Integrated Electoral Management System (KIEMS) before the 2017 polls.

Chris Msando’s untimely demise, just days before the August 8 polls in 2017, sent shockwaves through the nation. Having been in the position for only two months, succeeding a predecessor who was suspended for refusing to cooperate with an audit firm cleaning the voters’ register, Chris went missing on July 28, 2017.

Four days later, his lifeless, half-naked body was discovered alongside that of Carol Ngumbu in Maguga forest, Kikuyu, showing signs of torture. Deep scratches and cuts covered his back, and reports suggested one of his arms was missing.

Autopsy results confirmed he had been tortured and strangled to death, leaving his family and the nation grappling with the injustice of his brutal end. As the Msando family faces another funeral, the scars of unresolved justice for Chris’s murder linger, echoing the pain of Mama Maria’s unfulfilled quest for closure.