IPOA raises red flags over police evidence as Rex Masai inquest continues

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has clashed with the National Police Service over the handling of investigations into the killing of Rex Masai, raising fresh questions about whether the inquest can be closed while key witnesses and police evidence remain outstanding.

IPOA lawyer David Tenge told Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo that the National Police Service had never initiated an investigation into Masai’s death, appearing to contradict the State’s position that the evidence already presented before the court was sufficient.

“There has never been an investigation initiated by the National Police Service in the death of Rex Masai,” Tenge told the court.

Tenge’s remarks came as the inquest heard evidence from Absa Bank security manager Joash Owango, the 29th witness, who supplied CCTV footage from the bank’s Queensway Branch to IPOA investigators.

Owango told the court that his review of the footage showed protesters moving faster than normal, which he said “depicts there was tension” during the demonstrations in which Masai was shot.

He confirmed that the footage handed over to IPOA had not been altered, adjusted or edited.

“The video supplied was not altered, adjusted or edited,” Owango said.

However, Owango said he was not at the bank when Masai was killed and could not tell the court what happened around the premises.

His testimony came against the backdrop of missing police CCTV footage and questions over whether the National Police Service conducted adequate investigations into the shooting.

Earlier, Chief Inspector Andrew Limo of the National Police Service CCTV Command Centre told the inquest that footage requested by detectives was unavailable because the cameras were offline.

The inquest also heard that armourers from Kamukunji, KICC and Kilimani police stations had neither recorded statements nor testified. Another witness from International Life House also failed to appear despite being bonded to attend court.

The National Police Service, through its lawyer, told the court that it had visited Kilimani Police Station and established that no officer from the station had been deployed to Nairobi CBD on the material day.

However, prosecution counsel Jalson Makori maintained that the evidence before the court was adequate.

“What has been supplied is sufficient for prosecution,” Makori said.

The conflicting positions have put the spotlight on whether the inquest can be concluded without establishing who shot Masai and whether police officers were involved in his death.

The case was adjourned until Monday next week, when an IT expert is expected to appear and produce a certificate confirming the authenticity of the Absa video evidence before the inquest.