UPDATE Tuesday, June 7: Four officers accused of Killing Wycliffe Owour, one of the suspects in the Ksh72 million Nairobi West ATM heist in 2019, have pleaded not guilty to murder charges levelled against them at the Milimani law courts.
The four were arraigned in court following their arrests at the Kayole Police Station on Monday, June 6 after recommendations by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
The case will be mentioned on June 21.
Four cops have been arrested over the murder of Wycliffe Owour, one of the suspects in the Ksh72 million Nairobi West ATM heist that took place in 2019.
The arrests were effected following recommendations by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who ordered an investigation into an extra-judicial killing. Owuor was suspected to have been assassinated by the trio.
On Monday, June 6, detectives apprehended the four at Kayole Police Station and detained them at Capital Hill Station as investigations into the case continued.
"This is in compliance with the recommendation by ODPP vide their letter res odpp/cam/1/1/1778 dated 18th May 2022 and dig kps letter ref kps/dig/sec/leg/11/4/103 dated May 23, 2022, involving the death of one Wycliffe Owour," the police report seen by Kenyans.co.ke read.
Police state that the four officers will be arraigned before the Milimani law courts today and charged with murder.
"The Court is hereby informed by the Director of Public Prosecutions on behalf of the Republic that the accused persons are charged with murder contrary to Section 203 as read with Section 204 of the Penal Code," read the charge sheet in part.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) claimed that Owuor was gunned down on March 24, 2020, after a fierce shootout between him and the police. At the time, Owuor was out on a Ksh500,000 bond.
“The mastermind in Ksh.72M Nairobi West ATM Heist last year; Wycliff Vincent Owuor was today gunned down in a fierce shootout between a three-man gang of robbery with violence suspects and detectives responding to a distress call from the public at Kayole Junction in Nairobi.
“The gang defied orders to surrender, engaging the officers in a fire exchange which left the said suspect down. The other two escaped on the motorbike but are being pursued. A Pistol & a kitchen knife recovered from the slain suspect” read the statement in 2020.
However, Owuor’s legal team refuted the reports by the DCI even as they claimed that their client was executed in cold blood.
The victim was alleged to have orchestrated the bank heist with the aid of rogue police officers.
They stated that Owuor had offered to corporate with the officers during their arrests. A video shared by one of his attorneys showed police roughing and assaulting him prior to his demise.
Over Ksh7 million was recovered from the suspects of the 2019 Nairobi West ATM heist.
