A dramatic twist has emerged in the case of Rex Masai, who was fatally shot in Nairobi during the anti-finance bill protests, after the police officer accused of shooting him denied being in Nairobi on the day of the protests.
Appearing before the court on Wednesday, July 16, accused officer Isaiah Murangiri Ndumi disputed CCTV footage and other visual evidence presented by the prosecution, allegedly placing him in Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD) and along Uhuru Highway during the widespread protests.
He remained adamant, maintaining that the individual depicted in the images and video footages - specifically described as a person in a blue shirt and grey trousers carrying a walkie-talkie - was not him.
When asked: “The person in a blue shirt and grey trousers with a walkie-talkie, is that you?" He responded: "No, your honour, that is not me.”
Photo after photo and video after video were presented to the court as evidence that the officer was in the vicinity and responsible for the shooting. But the accused continually refuted this evidence.
One of the videos showed the officer holding a gun, which he also adamantly denied having.
"I am not the one; that person does not bear any resemblance to me," the officer told the court.
He went further to deny having a mark on his face, as shown in the images and videos shared to the court.
Despite cell information pinpointing the officer to the exact location of the shooting, the officer went ahead to allege that he was not in the vicinity.
Giving his account, Paul Njehia, the investigating officer in the case, told to the court that the samples obtained from the scene and DNA samples from Rex's body matched.
"These samples were picked from the scene, and this far, it has already been established that Rex Masai was shot during the demonstrations, and that blood sample matched the one that was collected from Rex's body," he told the court.
Three more officers have been ordered to record their statements to IPOA as the case continues.
