• He says his life is in danger citing attempted kidnap, says they confiscated his ID during arrest.
• He says he was a member of the Tangatanga WhatsApp group but 'only knows Itumbi from pubic sources'.
Image: DPPS
A witness in Dennis Itumbi's La Mada Hotel assassination plot case against DP William Ruto claims police officers forced him to admit he had talked to Ruto on phone.
Samuel Gateri admits in court papers that he was a member of the Tangatanga WhatsApp group that the police suspected was behind a letter that was widely circulated, in which there were claims a group of Cabinet Secretaries held meetings at La Mada Hotel and planned how to eliminate Ruto.
Initially, he was to be a prosecution witness but has now changed his mind.
He has asked the chief magistrate's court to enjoin him as an interested party and his statement to be produced in court claiming that he was forced to sign it.
Gateri also claims his life is in danger citing threats and attempted kidnap.
He says on July 2 he was called by an unknown number and the person introduced himself as an employee of G4S Embu branch courier services informing him there was parcel he needed to collect.
He went to the offices and upon introducing himself and giving out his identification card as requested, two men showed up and took his ID, he said.
They later introduced themselves as officers from the DCI and took him into their vehicle to Muthaiga police station.
He was ordered to surrender all his personal items including cellphones, national ID and driving license without any warrant. The officers also ordered him not to use his phones to contact anyone, he said.
"The officers thereafter told me that I was under arrest and that they would execute me if I did not confirm that I had a telephone conversation with the Deputy President and that Dennis Itumbi was my link with the DP."
He adds that the officers further threatened to take him to a high-ranking security officer 'to be dealt with'.
Gateri claims that at the police station, he was threatened and coerced into signing a statement he did not record and whose contents he does not know to date.
He is concerned the prosecution might rely on the statement.
Gateri says he is living in danger, struggling to access basic services that require a national ID, therefore, making his life difficult to venture.
He claims to only know Itumbi from public sources, not personally.
Gateri was in police custody for more than 24 hours but was later released without being charged. He says his confiscated items were not returned.
He wants the items to be returned to him unconditionally.
Gateri also wants the prosecution to give him the statement he purportedly signed.
The case had come up for pretrial hearing before Itumbi's lawyer made the application.
The prosecution counsel requested time to respond to the application.
Chief magistrate Martha Mutuku directed the matter to be mentioned on Tuesday without the appearance of the accused person.
Edited by R.Wamochie