Police Constable Isaiah Murangiri in court on July 16, 2024.
Police Constable Isaiah Murangiri has denied claims that he was present at the scene of the fatal shooting of activist Rex Masai during the anti-finance bill protests in Nairobi.
During a grilling before the Milimani Law Courts during the ongoing inquest on Wednesday, Murangiri distanced himself from photographs presented in court allegedly showing him along Uhuru Highway during the June 18, 2024, protests.
The state counsel argued that the images presented in court showed a man who appeared in multiple photographs taken along various streets during the protests and that the individual bore a resemblance to Murangiri.
But Murangiri insisted he was not the person captured in the images, telling the court that on June 18, he was stationed at the main entrance of the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), where he had been deployed.
"I'm not the one. According to me, the pictures bear no resemblance," he stated.
Appearing before Magistrate Onsarigo, Murangiri maintained that he had only been issued teargas canisters during his deployment and did not at any point use his teargas launcher or leave his station at KICC throughout the day.
He said the protesters never reached his post, and there was no need to engage.
“Firearms and crowd-control equipment should only be used when protecting yourself, protecting someone else, or responding to an active threat,” Murangiri told the court.
Murangiri had previously told the court that on June 18, 2024, he was never near the protest scene, as he was at home looking for his sick child.
However, Murangiri’s cross-examination on Wednesday appeared to contradict earlier statements.
Ipoa also raised questions over inconsistencies in Murangiri’s testimony, noting that in his earlier statements, he had indicated he was off duty on June 18 and nowhere near the city centre.
Paul Njihia, an assistant director of forensic investigations and a member of Ipoa, testified that he was directed by the Deputy Director of Investigations to visit Mama Ngina Street on June 22, 2024, two days after Rex Masai was allegedly shot during the protests.
Njihia told the court that his visit to the scene was aimed at collecting forensic evidence following the alleged shooting of Rex Masai during the anti-finance bill protests.
He testified that he observed dried blood near the
International Life House and collected samples for DNA analysis.
“At the scene, I observed what appeared to be dried blood
near the International Life House,” he said.
Njihia also reported observing a bullet hole on a nearby
building window, believed to have been caused by live ammunition. A deformed
bullet was recovered at the scene and handed over to the Directorate of
Criminal Investigations (DCI) for ballistic examination.
“I collected and documented the samples for DNA analysis and recovered a deformed bullet, which I forwarded to the DCI for ballistic examination,” he said.
Photographs from the scene taken by Njihia were also
presented in court.
The inquest is set to resume on July 17.
