Former Gem Member of Parliament Agrey Otieno Ambala was first elected in 1979, defeating Isaac Omolo Okero.
Ambala had built an extensive business empire, owning petrol stations in Kisumu and Nairobi, one of the earliest Black-owned fish and chips outlets, and wide-ranging real estate holdings.
After he entered parliament, President Daniel Arap Moi rewarded him with Assistant Minister for Culture.
After the failed 1982 coup, Moi ordered a repeat election. During the 1983 elections, Ambala lost the seat to Horace Owiti Ongili.
Ambala accepted the defeat publicly, though tensions remained beneath the surface.
Two years later, on the night of 27 May 1985, Ongili was invited to a meeting from which no minutes were ever taken.
He was found the next morning in his own maize plantation, rearranged into pieces too small for a decent coffin.
Although the case bore the hallmarks of a politically sensitive matter, investigators quickly focused on two petty thieves arrested the same night for unrelated break-ins.
Under intense pressure to deliver results, police linked the men to the killing, despite the lack of a clear motive or evidence connecting them to the political dispute.
Ambala was also arrested after investigators claimed he had withdrawn a large sum of money shortly before the incident. Despite his cooperation, Ambala was remanded at Kodiaga GK Prison.
On June 8, 1985, Ambala suddenly collapsed and died while in custody. His death further complicated the case, raising more questions than answers.
With Ambala gone, the two suspects who had been arrested more easily became the primary suspects.
Their trial was widely criticised, including by Court of Appeal judges who later described aspects of the High Court process as deeply flawed.
Nonetheless, the convictions were upheld, and the two men remained on death row for over a decade before receiving a presidential pardon.
Owiti’s killing has never been conclusively resolved, and Ambala’s death in custody remains a subject of speculation and local memory.
