An emotional moment unfolded at a court after a former Kayole Officer Commanding a Station (OCS) broke down while testifying in a murder case involving six Kayole Police Station officers accused of killing a suspected robber.
Appearing at Milimani High Court on Wednesday, October 29, he became emotional as he recalled losing 13 officers to armed robbers within two months during his tenure.
The case involved the fatal shooting of Wycliffe Vincent Owuor, a man who had previously been accused of participating in Ksh72 million Nairobi West ATM robbery in 2019.
According to the former OCS, Owuor was gunned down at Kayole Junction on March 24, 2020, six months after being released on bond.
During the hearing, ex-OCS became emotional as he recalled the dangers his officers faced during his tenure at the station.
He told the court that just within two months of being posted to Kayole Police Station, he lost 13 officers to robbery incidents.
“In total, during the three months I served there, 13 officers were killed while on duty, including two traffic officers who were attacked while on the road," he said.
He told the court that on that day of Owour's death, police received a report about armed robbers terrorising residents in Kayole, prompting them to immediately dispatch six officers to respond to the call.
“When the officers arrived, they ordered the suspects to surrender, but the gunmen opened fire. The officers returned fire, killing one suspect while two others escaped on a motorcycle,” he told the court.
In a police report in March 2020, Owuor was murdered during a shootout; however, a witness and his family disputed this report, claiming that he was executed after being handcuffed.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) investigated the incident and later recommended that six officers be charged with murder.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) concurred with IPOA's investigations, directing the arrest.
The trial is still ongoing as the court seeks to determine whether killing Owuor was a lawful police operation or an unlawful execution.
