Siaya Businessman Jailed 30 Years for Hiring Killer to Murder His Brother
He Paid a Hitman to Kill His Own Brother Over Family Wealth. Now He's Paying for It
A Siaya High Court has sentenced businessman Vincent Ochieng Ongoro to 30 years in prison for orchestrating the murder of his younger brother, Jared Ongoro Odhiambo. His hired attacker, Crispin Kennedy Awambo, got the same sentence.
Justice Daniel Kemei handed down the ruling on Friday, July 17, weeks after convicting both men of murder on June 26. The court found the killing was rooted in a long-running dispute over family wealth that Vincent refused to settle peacefully.
What the judge said
As per Tuko, Kemei noted that murder carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, but settled on 30 years since both men were first offenders. He didn’t hold back on where the blame sat: “The two accused herein took the law into their own hands.” Awambo’s sentence runs from his arrest on October 24, 2023. Vincent’s starts from his conviction date. Both have 14 days to appeal.
How Jared was killed
Jared had left a funeral vigil near River Nzoia Bridge in Ugunja on the night of September 4, 2023, riding a motorcycle with his brother John Fabian as pillion passenger. A second motorcycle carrying three men overtook them, and the attackers set on Jared with pangas and a metal rod. John Fabian survived with deep cuts. Jared died from multiple skull fractures.
He reportedly begged for his life during the attack, offering to hand over his business in exchange for it.
The phone that broke the case
Investigators caught their break when a boda boda rider, Michael Omondi, was arrested in an unrelated robbery case and found with Jared’s phone. He told police Awambo had hired him to ferry the attackers that night, and that the group had stopped at Vincent’s business complex beforehand, where Vincent handed over a metal rod and gave the order. A worker at the complex backed up that account in court.
Vincent denied the charges throughout the trial, claiming he’d been at his business the whole night and that the case was fabricated by jealous relatives.
