The hearing of the case involving the abduction and subsequent disappearance of two Indian nationals and one Kenyan taxi driver continued yesterday before Kahawa Law Courts Principal Magistrate Gideon Kiage.
One of the 33 prosecution witnesses told the court that government vehicles assigned to the then Special Services Unit (SSU) of the DCI were used to trail, capture and dispose the victims in the Aberdare National Park in Nyeri County.
He said that one vehicle, registration number GKB 038U, which is suspected to have ferried the victims to the park was captured in the car tracking logs entering the Treetops Gate of the park at 1834hrs on 22 July 2022, a time beyond the official time of 0600hrs to 1800hrs.
The witness noted that this particular vehicle was not recorded in the gate vehicle register book as per the records retrieved from Kenya Wildlife Service gate registers.
Other than the car tracking logs, the witness told the court that 20 mobile phones belonging to the accused persons were confiscated and presented to DCI where forensic analysis was conducted.
He added that after subjecting the mobile phones to forensic analysis at the DCI forensic laboratory, they went further and handed them over to the Communications Authority of Kenya to conduct another phase of analysis before taking them to India for the same exercise. This, he says, was to gather more information regarding the occurrences of that period when the three victims were allegedly abducted.
“The witness said that between 20th of July and 11th of August 2023, the investigating team analyzed and went through the phone extraction report and established from one of the exhibits a mobile phone Samsung A12 IMEI 350711558872733 belonging to Cpl John Mwangi Kamau a communication in one of the chats between him and Cpl Joseph Mwenda Baya on 16/10/2022 at 15:57hrs in which CPL Joseph Mwenda Mbaya enquired from John Mwangi Kamau of re-visiting the scene to clear it and there was a reply by Cpl John Mwangi Kamau that “Tanki alienda” referring to one of the accused persons,” the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) reports.
The accused persons Chief Inspector Peter Muthee Gachiku, IP James Kibosek Tanuki, Cpl Joseph Kamau Mbugua, Cpl David Chepchieng Kipsoi, Cpl Joseph Mwenda Mbaya, Cpl John Mwangi Kamau, Cpl Hillary Limo Kipchumba, Pc Stephen Luseno Matunda, Pc Simon Muhuga Gikonyo, Pc Paul Njogu Muriithi, Pc/Drv Boniface Otieno Mtulla, Pc Elikana Njeru Mugendi, Pc Fredrick Thuku Kamau, John Wanjiku Macharia and Michael Kiplangat Bett are alleged to have committed the offence on the victims Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan and Mohammed Zaid Sami and Nicodemus Mwania Mwange on diverse dates between 22nd July and 23rd July 2022 at Nairobi County.
The case, being prosecuted by Jalson Makori and Harrison Kiarie, comes for further hearing on 20 June 2024.
