Rex Masai murder inquest adjourned after state witness fails to appear in court
Masai was killed on June 24, 2024, during the youth-led protests in a push for better governance.
The inquest into the murder of activist Rex Masai failed to continue after a state witness in the inquiry, who is a police officer, failed to show up in court.
Fredrick Ole Tepes, who was the armourer at the Central Police Station, was to take to the witness stand before a civilian witness.
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The civilian witness was present in court but since his testimony must come after that of the police officer, the matter was postponed to Thursday this week.
Masai was killed on June 24, 2024, during the youth-led protests in a push for better governance.
Lawyer Mwangi Chege for the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), which is representing the family, said the matter will be pursued to its conclusion to ensure that no other incident of a security officer using a firearm on unarmed demonstrators happens.
Right to picket
"We will ensure that on no occasion that police or any other member of the armed units or security forces will ever use live ammunition on civilians who are exercising their (constitutional) rights. It is every citizen’s right to picket, protest and to associate," stated Chege.
"We will be keen in the advancement of attainment of those rights. We are using the case of Rex Masai to set precedence in our country to ensure that as we go forward there will never be a case of use of ammunition in any demonstrations or any gatherings whatsoever."
The case is expected to continue for two consecutive days – Thursday and Friday this week – when the police officer is expected to testify together with the civilian witness and activist Boniface Mwangi.
The armourer is expected to shed light on the movement of firearms on the day Rex was shot dead in a bid to establish who had the firearm used in the murder of the Gen Z activist.
Former Nairobi police commander Adamson Bungei and former Nairobi Central Police commander told the inquest that there was no operational order and it is not possible to locate officers deployed in the area where Rex was shot dead along Tom Mboya Street.
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