Court Told of Altered Gun Records in Rex Masai Death Probe
Tension filled the Milimani Law Courts on Monday as two key witnesses testified in the inquest into the death of 29-year-old protester Rex Kanyike Masai who was shot dead during last year’s protests against the Finance Bill.
Corporal Fredrick Odera Okapesi, a long serving officer in charge of the Central Police Station armoury, admitted that firearm records for June 2024 had inconsistencies. He said he manages the arms movement register which tracks weapons issued and returned.
Okapesi told the court that on June 18, 2024, officer Benson Kamau was issued a firearm but it was later returned to Corporal Martin Githinji. However he conceded he had made alterations, double entries and overwritten signatures in the register.
“These were human errors, not deliberate attempts to hide the truth,” he said, insisting the mistakes should not undermine the register’s credibility.
Questions arose whether Corporal Isaiah Murangiri—the main suspect in Rex’s shooting—was issued a firearm. Records showing so were later deleted, Okapesi said Murangiri only received a teargas canister. But the prosecutors pressed him whether Murangiri could have gotten a weapon elsewhere, to which he replied such a move would require higher authority.
IPOA’s lawyer David Tenge challenged Okapesi on the irregularities, suggesting they were meant to shield Murangiri. Okapesi denied this, saying no one can sign out a firearm on behalf of another officer. He also revealed the register showed Murangiri was given rubber bullets, contradicting his own testimony.
Later forensic analyst Henry Kiptoo Sang from KEBS presented laboratory findings. He confirmed blood samples collected matched Masai’s DNA, though decomposed soil samples stained with blood failed to generate a profile. His report was submitted as evidence.
The hearing will continue on September 15 with more witnesses expected to testify. Masai was shot in the thigh along Moi Avenue on June 20, 2024 and bled to death—a killing that became a symbol of the nationwide protests.
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Court Told of Altered Gun Records in Rex Masai Death Probe