Peter Ngugi Kamau, a mitumba clothes vendor charged alongside four police officers in the murder of human rights lawyer Willie Kimani, on Wednesday claimed that he was duped into signing a confession.
Speaking in front of Justice Jessie Lesiit, Ngugi claimed to have been promised Ksh30,000 alongside other benefits upon helping out the police with the case.
In his testimony, the accused disclosed that he had been a police informant since 2009, a period during which he helped them out on various cases.
He went on to narrate how he was assured that he would be provided with a safe house, a monthly stipend, and a vehicle during his interrogation.
Ngugi recounted in detail how he was picked up at Waithaka bus stop in Dagoretti by Clement Mwangi (an officer he claimed to be a friend) and Nicholas Ole Sena on August 8, 2016.
The officers took him to Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters along Kiambu road where he claims they went on to assure him that he’d be paid substantially if he provided incriminating information.
Ngugi categorically denounced making a confession and professed that he was given random papers on which he placed his thumbprint without reading through, as he does not understand English, having dropped out of school in class four.
He went on to recall how he was kept in a safe house for three weeks after his initial interrogation, with the police assuring him that he would be used as a key prosecution witness.
Ngugi disclosed to the court that he was treated really well at the safe house and provided with chicken, nyama choma and a pack of cigarettes on a daily basis.
“I was uncooperative with them because they had not paid me Ksh50,000 for another job I did for them involving the robbery of a judge. I helped them nab the suspects,” he alleged.
The accused stated that he was shocked to later find himself on the suspects' docket alongside four administration officers: Fredrick Leliman, Stephen Cheburet, Sylvia Wanjiku, and Leonard Maina Mwangi.
On their end, the police maintained that Ngugi confessed to the killings and recorded a statement before Geoffrey Kinyua, an investigations officer.
Justice Lesiit adjourned the case to March 6, when the court is set to hear submissions from the prosecution and Ngugi’s lawyer.
