A note said to have been written by lawyer Willy Kimani hours before he, his client and taxi driver were murdered in cold blood was at the centre of cross-examination of a witness on Wednesday.
The court heard that the two-ply toilet paper, which is now regarded as a major exhibit in the sensational case, was kept safe by a boda boda rider, who testified in camera, before it was handed over to investigators.
AP officers Fredrick Leliman, Leonard Maina, Stephen Chebulet, Silvia Wanjiku and informer Peter Ngugi are charged with the gruesome murder.
International Justice Mission officer Rose Gakii said her office made unsuccessful attempts to trace the three after she received a distress call from Mwenda’s wife, only identified as Rebecca, on June 23 last year.
Gakii told Justice Jessie Lesiit that Rebecca informed her a strange man had called claiming that Kimani, Josephat Mwenda and Joseph Muiruri had been arrested.
“She called me at about 8pm. I then asked her to give me the number and I called the man,” she said.
The man said he had a note that was thrown to him, Gakii said.
“Please call this number xxxxxxxx and let Rose know that Willy and Mwenda have been arrested and held at Syokimau. We are in danger,” the note, written in Kiswahili, states.
Gakii said, “I asked him to keep it safe and I reported the matter to the investigators.”
She said she had met Rebecca previously together with her husband, Mwenda, after he reported to Ipoa about harassment by Leliman.
The court heard that the IJM used to shop for the couple, offer psychosocial support and was in the process of relocating them.
Gakii said they had not placed the couple under the Witness Protection Programme because the matter was under investigation.
Another witness, Shaviya Mameti, said AP officer Wanjiku, who was at the booking desk, denied ever seeing the three persons at the Syokimau police post, even though there were indications were that they had been held at the post the previous day.