Rex Masai inquest: OCS recounts receiving call about critically injured youth during protests
Shikuku recounted that he was patrolling the Central Business District (CBD) when he received a call from an inspector informing him that a young man had been taken to Bliss Hospital near the Tom Mboya monument in critical condition.
The Officer Commanding Station (OCS), Chief Inspector Moses Mutai Shikuku of Central Police Station, has confirmed to an inquest court that some officers in his unit were indeed armed on the day Rex Masai was killed.
Shikuku recounted that he was patrolling the Central Business District (CBD) when he received a call from an inspector informing him that a young man had been taken to Bliss Hospital near the Tom Mboya monument in critical condition.
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He was testifying in an inquest into the death of Rex Masai, who died during anti-government protests in parts of Nairobi’s CBD in June 2024.
“Some of the officers were in plain clothes and had been stationed at strategic locations, including Jeevanjee Gardens, University Way, and Globe Roundabout. They were operating under divisional-level directives,” said Shikuku.
The OCS added that he instructed the officer to take charge of the situation, and that a decision was made to transport the body after Masai’s death.
Among those implicated in the case are police officers Isaiah Muraguri and Benson Kamau. Former Nairobi Regional Police Commander Adamson Bungei, who now serves as the Director of Police Operations, has also testified.
Earlier, former Kamukunji OCS Robert Mugo told the court that the use of the Kamukunji police vehicle to transport two bodies that day was not coincidental but part of a broader regional operation.
“The vehicle did not act independently. There was coordination from higher up,” he said.
Mugo further stated that he had deployed 60 officers under his command to secure the lower CBD, covering Ronald Ngala Street, Luthuli Avenue, Afya Centre, and parts of Ngara.
“As far as my jurisdiction was concerned, everything was calm. The unrest was taking place in areas like Kenyatta Avenue and near City Hall, which were outside my operational zone,” he said.
He maintained that none of his officers had been armed with live ammunition. “All my officers were issued only with tear gas canisters and batons,” he told the inquest.
The inquest is scheduled to resume on June 19, 2025, with ten witnesses lined up to give their testimonies.
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