A man publicly identified by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations as a wanted murder suspect in 2024 has once again surfaced in a major police operation in Kisumu, with the latest development raising serious concerns over how a suspect who had previously been arrested in connection with a double murder ended up back in the streets and at the centre of another criminal investigation.
The man is Oliver Ochieng Jaoko, also known as Oliveti, whose name was prominently featured by the DCI on October 8, 2024, when the agency announced that detectives from Kondele Police Station had finally arrested him after months of pursuing him over the killing of Evans Opiyo and Mohammed Saleh at Kibuye Market on July 1, 2024.
At the time, the DCI said the two men had been hacked to death following a dispute over control of proceeds from five washrooms at Kibuye Market, after which Jaoko disappeared into hiding and was eventually traced to Manyatta following information provided to detectives.
The DCI presented the arrest as a major breakthrough in the investigation, publishing his photographs and describing him as an elusive murder suspect who had been successfully removed from hiding after a prolonged manhunt.
Almost two years later, the same name has now appeared in another police operation involving 15 suspected gang members and a cache of crude weapons, creating a troubling gap that authorities need to explain to the public and, more importantly, to the families of the two men whose deaths triggered the original manhunt.
Jaoko named again in latest police operation ¶
According to the latest police account, detectives received intelligence that a group of people armed with crude weapons was travelling in three vehicles along the Kisumu Kericho highway, prompting officers from the DCI Operations Support Unit, Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau in Nyanza Region and DCI Kisumu Central to move in and intercept the vehicles.
The suspects were travelling in a grey Toyota Noah registration KCR 790A and two white Toyota Hiace vans, KDM 377M and KDE 819U, with the two vans reportedly operating under the Nyakija Classic Shuttle along the Kisumu Migori route.
Police said a search of the vehicles and the suspects recovered several mobile phones, assorted machetes and pangas, knives, ropes, a metal rod or club and other items that detectives suspected could have been intended for criminal activities.
It was during the operation that Oliver Jaoko, also known as Oliveti, was identified as the person believed to have been leading the group, before he made a daring escape by jumping through a vehicle window.
Fifteen suspects were taken into custody together with the recovered exhibits, while detectives launched a fresh pursuit for the alleged gang leader who had escaped.
But this is where the 2024 arrest becomes important ¶
The latest police statement would ordinarily be another announcement about a successful operation against suspected criminals, except that the name attached to the alleged gang leader is not new to the DCI or residents of Kisumu.
In October 2024, the DCI itself announced that Oliver Ochieng Jaoko had been arrested after months of being sought in connection with the deaths of Evans Opiyo and Mohammed Saleh.
The agency did not describe him as an ordinary person of interest at the time, but as a wanted murder suspect whose alleged involvement in the Kibuye Market killings had triggered a months long manhunt.
That history makes his reappearance in another serious police operation difficult to ignore.
The immediate issue is therefore not simply that another suspect has been arrested or that one alleged gang leader escaped.
The issue is what happened between the October 2024 murder arrest and the August 2026 gang operation, and whether the criminal justice process surrounding the earlier case was completed, remained pending, resulted in his release or ended in another manner.
What happened to the Kibuye Market murder case? ¶
The two men who died at Kibuye Market in July 2024 did not simply disappear from the public record because their alleged killer was arrested.
Their families were left expecting the criminal justice system to establish what happened, prosecute those responsible and ultimately deliver justice through the courts.
The DCI's own announcement created the expectation that the arrest of Jaoko represented a significant step towards achieving that objective. The public therefore deserves to know what followed after the cameras moved away from the arrest. If the suspect was taken before court and released on bail, Kenyans deserve to know that.
If the case was withdrawn, the circumstances surrounding the withdrawal should be known. If he was acquitted, that should be part of the public record. If the case remains pending, the status of the proceedings should be established.
And if the suspect was never charged after the highly publicised arrest, then the relevant agencies should explain why a person publicly described by the DCI as a wanted murder suspect did not proceed through the expected prosecution process.
These are important questions because the latest police operation has brought the same name back into the public spotlight.
The families of the two victims deserve answers ¶
For the families of Evans Opiyo and Mohammed Saleh, the latest development could be particularly disturbing because the DCI had previously told the public that the suspect connected to their deaths had been apprehended.
The original police statement said the killings arose from a dispute over control of proceeds from five washrooms at Kibuye Market, and the arrest was presented as the outcome of a determined investigation and manhunt.
The families therefore have a legitimate interest in knowing whether the murder investigation progressed after the arrest and what legal outcome followed.
If the man now identified as Oliver Jaoko is the same person arrested by the DCI in 2024, the authorities should provide clarity rather than leave the public to connect two separate police announcements on its own.
This is not the first time an arrest has raised questions about what happens afterwards ¶
Kenya has repeatedly witnessed dramatic police announcements in which suspects are arrested following major investigations, only for the public to hear little about what happens when those suspects enter the criminal justice system.
In some cases, suspects are charged and later acquitted because the prosecution fails to prove the case. In other cases, charges are withdrawn, investigations collapse or suspects are released through court processes that are entirely lawful.
There are also situations where investigations take years before reaching conclusion. The problem arises when the public is given extensive information about the arrest but almost no information about the outcome, leaving Kenyans to assume that an arrest automatically means a person was eventually convicted.
The latest operation also raises questions about security in Kisumu ¶
The discovery of a group travelling with machetes, pangas, knives, ropes and other crude weapons is itself a serious development for residents along the Kisumu Kericho highway and surrounding areas.
Police say the operation was intelligence led and involved several specialised DCI formations working together to intercept the suspects before the group could allegedly carry out criminal activities.
The fact that one person believed to be leading the group reportedly escaped through a vehicle window also means that detectives still have work to do, particularly in establishing where he went, who may have assisted him and whether the people arrested were connected to any planned or previous criminal activities.
The recovered weapons and other exhibits should now form part of the evidence that investigators use to establish the purpose of the group's movement and whether specific offences can be linked to individual suspects.
DCI should connect the two chapters ¶
The most straightforward way to remove speculation is for the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to explain the legal history of the person it previously announced as a wanted murder suspect and who has now been named in another serious operation.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions should also be able to establish the status and outcome of any prosecution arising from the 2024 Kibuye Market killings, while the relevant court records should provide the definitive account of what happened after the arrest.
The National Police Service should similarly ensure that the latest allegations are properly investigated and that any suspect is processed according to the law.
If the 2024 murder case was concluded, the public should be told how. If it is still pending, the status should be made clear. If there was a lawful reason for Jaoko to be back in the community, that should also be understood rather than allowing speculation to fill the gap.
The public needs to see what happens after the arrest ¶
The latest Kisumu operation may eventually result in charges against some of the 15 suspects, while the man police have identified as the alleged leader remains at large.
But beyond the immediate operation, the reappearance of a name previously associated with a serious murder investigation exposes a much bigger problem in public confidence: Kenyans often see the arrest, but rarely see the entire journey from arrest to final determination.
Police deserve credit when intelligence leads to the recovery of weapons and the arrest of suspected criminals, but the same accountability must continue after the suspects leave the police station and enter the courts.
For the victims of the 2024 Kibuye Market killings, justice cannot simply be measured by the photograph of a suspect after an arrest.
For Kisumu residents, security cannot simply be measured by the number of suspects announced at press conferences.
The public needs to know whether the earlier case was prosecuted, what happened to it and why a man previously presented by the DCI as a wanted murder suspect has now emerged again in a fresh operation involving suspected gang activity.