Several posts were shared online, on Tuesday, April 12, claiming that Deputy President, William Ruto's bodyguard who died by suicide had testified in the Ksh39 billion fake arms deal saga.
Social media was abuzz after reports alleged that the bodyguard, who was part of the elite Presidential Escort Unit, was found dead at his house inside a General Service Unit (GSU) camp in Juja, Kiambu County.
It was alleged that the deceased testified in the fake arms deal where former Sports Cabinet Secretary, Rashid Echesa, was acquitted.
A fact check by Kenyans.co.ke however, established that the bodyguard attached to DP Ruto was not the same person who testified in the case.
We confirmed that the officer who died on Monday, April 11, was identified by police as Constable Samuel Ngatia, a member of Deputy President William Ruto’s security squad.
Initial reports claimed that Ngatia shot himself using a firearm, a Jericho pistol with 13 bullets. While processing the crime scene, the police found spent cartridges and bullets.
On the other hand, the bodyguard who testified in the 2021 firearms saga, was identified as Nicholas Maiyo Burkey.
Maiyo, one of DP's bodyguards, told the court that he ushered Echesa and the two white men into the DP's offices on February 13, 2020.
“I informed Echesa that Ruto was heading to Kandara. Echesa and the two white men left the town office,” Maiyo told the court while being cross-examined.
However, Echesa was freed on Friday, December 4, after the court ruled there was insufficient evidence to convict him.
The former Sports CS had been accused of defrauding two foreign nationals by promising to award them a tender to supply firearms to the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
Senior Principal Magistrate, Kenneth Cheruiyot, nullified the CCTV footage that was presented in his court by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
He argued that the evidence presented did not indicate how Echesa committed a crime.
Further, the magistrate added that preliminary evidence presented in court also proved that Ruto was not aware of Echesa’s visit.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) was also blamed for failing to present the two foreigners in court. The two were complainants in the case.
"You heard me asking him (President Uhuru Kenyatta) to shed light on my sacking so that I have a clean slate whenever I am seeking another opportunity. He declined.
“Later on I was apprehended and faced several charges which were eventually thrown out of court,” Echesa claimed that his case was doctored and that the President unfairly dismissed him.
