Former MP David Manyara paid to have people killed in Nakuru Town, last year, a court heard.
Inspector Leonard Lutta said yesterday that Mr Manyara, who was the area MP, bought mchetes for the outlawed Mungiki sect members, which they used to kill 10 people.
He told the court that police sources indicated that Mr Manyara planned with Mungiki members to kill people in various estates within the town.
"My colleagues and I were ordered by our seniors to look for Mr Manyara and verify the information, but we did not find him until after the killings," he said.
The inspector told how police went to Mr Manyara's home in Bondeni estate, but never found him.
Said the inspector: "We found a woman [who was] so rude, she refused to tell us where the former MP was. She said she does not carry Mr Manyara in her pocket."
During across examination by lawyer Gordon Ogolla for all the accused, the witness said they later got information that Mr Manyara was at The Stanley, a hotel in Nairobi.
Mr Ogolla asked the witness whether he knew the amount of money Mr Manyara paid the Mungiki members.
"I don't know the amount, for sure, but I received information that he was giving them between Sh200 and Sh300 each."
The witness also said police received information that Mr Manyara had been spotted near Parliament Buildings, then travelled to Nairobi but never found him.
Asked by Mr Ogolla whether they made inquiries with police officers in Parliament, the witness said that they never did so.
He also told the court that he never knew the shop from which Mr Manyara bought the pangas.
The inspector then told the court that on January 6, 2003, he was summoned by his seniors to the provincial police office, where he met Mr Manyara seated in the waiting room. However, he did not know how Mr Manyara got there.
The former MP was latter arrested and charged with 10 counts of murder, together with the suspected Mungiki members.
Dr Noah Kamidigu Oloo, who performed postmortem on eight of the bodies, confirmed that the deaths were due to injuries inflicted by sharp objects.
Hearing continues.