- DCI boss George Kinoti said the officers are seeking to establish a link between the murder and the alleged grabbing of the forestland.
- On Tuesday, Kinoti said preliminary investigations reveal Stutchbury might have been killed because of her strong passion and position to preserve the forest.
Image: FILE
DCI detectives are focusing on the beneficiaries of illegal allocations of Kiambu forest in the probe of the murder of renowned environmentalist Joannah Stutchbury.
DCI boss George Kinoti on Tuesday said his officers are seeking to establish a link between the murder and the alleged grabbing of the forest land. He submitted a report to a Senate committee.
Stutchbury, 67, was shot six times outside her Kiambu home on July 15. Her driveway had been blocked by branches and she got out of her car to clear them.
Kinoti said preliminary investigations reveal Stutchbury might have been killed because of her strong passion and position on forest conservation.
“Preliminary investigations reveal that the deceased’s resistance to the encroachment and illegal construction of a road on LR. No 21179 F/R. NO.284/108 may have been the probable motive behind the murder,” Kinoti said.
The postmortem report said she died of multiple gunshot injuries from a low-velocity firearm at close range.
In a report to a Senate committee, Kinoti said that Stutchbury might have crossed the illegal developers who wanted to construct a road in the wetland to gain access to their ‘illegally’ acquired properties.
Kinoti submitted the report to the National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations committee that is probing the murder of the environmentalist.
The DCI chief said intense investigations are at an advanced stage.
The probe involves officers from the crime research and intelligence bureau, homicide department, cyber forensics, crime support services, firearms ballistics and the Kiambu subcounty criminal investigation team.
“The team was tasked to establish the motive and criminals behind the grisly murder of Ms Stutchbury," Kinoti said.
He disclosed to the committee that samples and exhibits recovered from the scene and elsewhere are undergoing forensic, cyber and ballistics examinations to link persons of interests to the murder.
The country’s top detective revealed that several persons of interest have been questioned and their statements recorded.
Following the findings of the preliminary investigations, Kinoti revealed his officers have also initiated investigations into the alleged illegal acquisition of the 133.95ha (330 acres) of forest.
He said detectives have established that Kiambu Central Forest boundaries and beacons are intact, however, a total of 131.38ha (324 acres) has been illegally allocated to individuals and companies.
He noted that only 2.25ha (5.5 acres) of the land remains as Kiambu forestland.
“The detectives are now zeroing in on how these individuals and/or companies acquired and subsequently subdivided the government land into individual parcels and whether this has a nexus with Joannah's murder,” he said.
Last month, Environment CS Keriako Tobiko tabled before the committee the names of individuals and companies that were illegally and irregularly allocated the forest land.
Among the beneficiaries, the CS said, was Onesmus Kimani Ngunjiri, a director of Agropack Limited that was allocated 6.79ha (16.7 acres).
The CS said others are Bedan Mbugua Gikebe, Antony Muchiri Gikebe and Philomena Wangari Gikebe who were allocated 25ha (61.7 acres) through Wibeso Investments Limited. The three are listed as directors, owning one share each.
“A gazetted forest can only be reallocated if it is degazetted and the degazettement must also be approved by Parliament,” Tobiko had said.
(Edited by V. Graham)