The case in which 15 Special Service Unit (SSU) officers are accused of being involved in the abduction and subsequent disappearance of two Indian nationals and their Kenyan taxi driver in July 23, 2022 kicked off for hearing on Monday, March 25 at the Kahawa Law Courts.
The accused persons appeared before the Kahawa Law Courts Principal Magistrate Gideon Kiage. They include; 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.
The suspects 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 within Nairobi County.
The prosecution, in their opening statement, gave the court a chronology of how the heinous act which was well planned and executed with enormous resources utilized was committed, from how they were trailed by officers from the defunct SSU, continuous location of their mobile phones by the National Intelligence Service officers as well as abduction and Kenya Wildlife Service officers facilitating the alleged disposal of the victims at the Aberdare National Park in Nyeri County.
Led by Jalson Makori and Harrison Kiarie, the prosecution also told the court that they will be relying on testimonies from 30 witnesses to prove the case against the accused persons.
Trailing of two Indians
In his testimony, the first witness told the court that he and his co-investigators from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) were assigned duty to investigate and apprehend the suspects accused of committing the crime. He noted that during their investigations, they identified three vehicles registration numbers KDD 632J, KDH 262S and KDG 836X that were believed to have been used in the trailing and subsequent abduction of the three victims.
He added that on the 6th of October 2022, led by lead investigator, they visited Michele Gardens in South B where they located one of the vehicles KDH262S being in possession of Edward Kamau Wanjiku at the time of impounding it who upon interrogations introduced the owner, one Mr. Fabian Mjomba Koshen.
He told the court that he escorted the two to South B Police Station and booked the detention of the car and handed over the keys to the OCS Chief Inspector Robert Mbui under OB Number 16 of 6th October 2022.
Arrest of suspects
He would later escort the two to Internal Affairs Unit offices at KCB towers in Upper Hill Nairobi for interrogations. He further told court that they continued with the operation and located KDD 632J Nissan Note at CIC plaza in possession of Ms. Evaline Waithera Wanjiku who was taken to custody. After brief interrogation she introduced another suspect John Macharia Wanjiku. Consequently, they dropped the car at Capitol Hill Police Station where it was booked for detention under OB 22 of 6th October 2022.
She also led them to a rented apartment in Kinoo where a search was undertaken but didn’t yield much of material evidence. After a brief interview on the evening of 6th October 2022, he booked the three suspects to custody; John Macharia Wanjiku at Kilimani Police Station, Edward Kamau Wanjiku and Mjomba Koshen at Capitol Hill Police Station.
He added that on 19th October 2022, as a team of investigators they proceeded to Aberdare National Park in Nyeri where they conducted a search and collected exhibits which were forwarded to the government chemist at Kenyatta National Hospital.
He notes that their visit to Aberdare was informed by the vehicle tracking logs retrieved from the vehicle suspected to have been used in the crime as per the data retrieved from the National Treasury, the custodian of government leased vehicles.
