Geoffrey Gitobu, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Returning Officer for Kirinyaga, who passed away suddenly on Monday, was not murdered.

This is according to Laikipia Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss Onesmus Towett, who dispelled rumours swelling surrounding the death of Gitobu.

“We have received a report that an IEBC officer has been murdered or killed. That is not the position. The case was reported yesterday at around 2:38 hours in the afternoon. The report was of sudden death of somebody who had collapsed in town. He was rushed to the hospital and at the hospital, he was confirmed that he was dead,” Towett said.

Towett added that nobody had been accused of murdering the senior IEBC official and no such case had been reported at any police station in Nanyuki, Laikipia County since Monday.

“So no person has killed another one and no person has been brought here that he has killed another one and no case of murder or manslaughter has been reported here at this Nanyuki station,” he added.

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According to Towett, a preliminary investigation had ruled out murder as Gitobu is reported to have collapsed and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

He also said an inquiry has been launched into the sudden death of the IEBC Returning Officer with a postmortem set to be conducted and the report availed to the public.

“He collapsed, the report was sudden death. We are investigating the cause of that death. We are opening an inquiry which we had already opened an inquiry. The postmortem will be done tomorrow at nine o’clock so we shall be knowing from tomorrow at nine o’clock what was the cause of his death,” Towett intimated.

“For now, it is sudden death and we take it like that as sudden death,” he added.

Towett further cautioned members of the public, politicians and the media against circulating rumours that the officer was killed, as there was no evidence of foul play.

Gitobu, who served as the Returning Officer for the Gichugu tallying centre in Kirinyaga County, is said to have collapsed and died on Monday under an unclear circumstance.