David Kimutai Too, the newly elected Orange Democratic Movement member of parliament for Ainamoi, was shot dead in Eldoret on 31 January 2008 in what police described as a crime of passion involving a traffic police officer. Coming only 48 hours after the killing of another opposition MP, the incident deepened the post-election crisis and fuelled widespread suspicion of targeted political assassinations.
The 39-year-old former teacher had won the 27 December 2007 parliamentary election on an Orange Democratic Movement ticket amid a wave of optimism for change. His death, together with that of Embakasi legislator Melitus Mugabe Were two days earlier, intensified ethnic violence that eventually claimed more than 1,100 lives and displaced close to 600,000 people across Kenya.
From classroom to parliament
Born on 23 August 1968 in rural Kericho County, Too grew up in a modest Kalenjin family. After training as a teacher, he taught in local schools before entering politics. He joined the Orange Democratic Movement, the opposition party led by Raila Odinga that promised far-reaching reforms against President Mwai Kibaki Party of National Unity government.
In the 2007 elections, Too won the Ainamoi seat by a wide margin. Orange Democratic Movement swept parliamentary races in many parts of Rift Valley, Nyanza and Western regions, giving the party a clear majority in the National Assembly. However, the announcement of Kibaki as presidential winner triggered immediate protests over alleged rigging.
The night everything changed
On the evening of 31 January 2008, Too was in his vehicle in Eldoret West Indies Estate with traffic police officer Eunice Chepkwony, aged 28. Another officer, Constable Andrew Moeche Omwenga, who claimed to be in a relationship with Chepkwony, confronted them on a government motorcycle.
According to court records, the situation escalated quickly. Omwenga testified that he saw Too reach for an object he believed was a gun. He opened fire, hitting Chepkwony in the thigh and chest and Too in the shoulders, chest and head. Too died instantly while Chepkwony succumbed to injuries hours later at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.
Then Police Commissioner Mohamed Hussein Ali addressed the media the following morning, insisting the incident had no political motive. “This is a clear case of crime of passion,” he said.
A nation refuses to believe
Orange Democratic Movement leaders immediately rejected the official narrative. Raila Odinga demanded an independent international investigation, questioning how two newly elected opposition MPs could be killed within 48 hours by pure coincidence.
The killings triggered fresh violence in Eldoret, Kericho, Nakuru and Naivasha. In Eldoret, angry Kalenjin youth attacked Kisii and Kikuyu residents, torching houses and blocking roads. Retaliatory attacks followed in Central Province and Naivasha, where dozens more died.
Second opposition MP killed
On 29 January 2008, Embakasi MP Melitus Mugabe Were had been shot dead outside his Nairobi home in Woodley Estate. The 40-year-old Catholic activist and social worker was killed before he could be sworn in. Police initially called it a robbery gone wrong, but Orange Democratic Movement insisted it was a political assassination meant to reduce their parliamentary numbers.
Were funeral in Nairobi drew thousands and sparked riots in Kibra and other informal settlements.
Trial and controversy
Omwenga was charged with double murder. His trial opened in Nakuru High Court in 2008. Prosecutors argued the shooting was premeditated, while the defence maintained it was self-defence during a heated personal dispute.
In October 2009, Justice David Maraga – who later became Chief Justice – acquitted Omwenga of murder but convicted him of manslaughter on both counts. He sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment, ruling that malice aforethought had not been proved.
Too family and Orange Democratic Movement supporters denounced the verdict as a miscarriage of justice. “They killed my husband and now they set his killer free,” widow Mary Too told journalists outside court.
Road to power-sharing
The twin killings heightened international concern. Former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan arrived in Nairobi on 22 January 2008 and intensified mediation efforts. The pressure, combined with the escalating death toll, finally forced Kibaki and Odinga to sign a power-sharing agreement on 28 February 2008, creating the positions of prime minister and two deputy prime ministers.
Burial and by-election
Too was buried on 9 February 2008 at his Kipchimchim home in Ainamoi constituency. Thousands attended the emotional ceremony at Kipchimchim Catholic Church, where opposition leaders delivered fiery speeches. Heavy police presence prevented the funeral from turning violent.
A by-election for Ainamoi was held in June 2008. Too younger brother, Benjamin Langat, won the seat on an Orange Democratic Movement ticket and served until 2013.
Seventeen years later
The killings of David Too and Melitus Mugabe Were remain among the most painful episodes of the 2007-2008 post-election crisis. Though Kenya adopted a new constitution in 2010 and strengthened electoral institutions, the events serve as a constant reminder of how quickly political competition can slide into deadly violence when trust in institutions collapses.
For the people of Ainamoi, the name David Too still evokes both pride in a promising leader cut down too soon and sorrow for a nation that came perilously close to the abyss.
