Principal Investigating Officer Justin Nyatete said detectives encountered major obstacles during the investigation.

📻 Breaking It Down

NAIROBI, Kenya May 29 – The inquest into the death of protester Rex Masai heard Thursday that investigators were unable to trace the firearm that fired the bullet which killed him during the June 2024 anti-Finance Bill demonstrations in Nairobi.

Testifying before the court, Principal Investigating Officer Justin Nyatete said detectives encountered major obstacles during the investigation, including what he described as non-cooperation from police officers who were deployed during the protests.

Nyatete, a detective with more than two decades of service, told the court that investigations established Masai was shot near the Absa Bank area within Nairobi’s central business district and was the only casualty recorded at that specific scene. Other victims injured during the protests, he said, were harmed in different locations.

📌 What You Need to Know

The court heard that investigators reviewed multiple pieces of evidence, including witness accounts, photographs and video footage collected during the demonstrations. Some of the material was reportedly provided by a protected witness identified as a journalist.

According to Nyatete, the footage showed an officer in civilian clothing moving alongside uniformed police officers near Uhuru Highway. The officer was reportedly carrying a police radio and baton while operating within the police formation.

Investigators later identified the officer as Isaiah Murangiri.

Nyatete testified that Murangiri had been deployed undercover and had officially been issued with a tear gas launcher. Detectives also established that he carried a small firearm during the operation.

However, forensic examinations failed to connect Murangiri’s weapon or firearms issued to other officers under investigation to the bullet that killed Masai.

“The ballistic report indicated the cartridge recovered had been fired from a revolver, not from the pistols issued to the officers being investigated,” Nyatete told the court.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya