Witness: Officers beat Kianjokoma brothers unconscious before driving them away
The court heard that the two officers then lifted the unconscious Boniface and placed him into a police Land Rover, while Mutura, still alive despite injuries, was helped into the vehicle before it drove off.
The Milimani High Court heard gripping testimony on Monday in the case against six police officers accused of killing two brothers in Kianjokoma four years ago.
A key eyewitness on Monday described how the siblings were violently assaulted before being forced into a police vehicle, shedding new light on the night of August 1, 2021.
More To Read
- EACC flags organised corruption in traffic department, Police IG vows action
- IG Kanja moves to overturn court order halting recruitment of 10,000 police officers
- Activist Bob Njagi claims Ugandan soldiers took part in Kenya’s 2024 Gen Z crackdown
- Rights groups welcome moving of Baby Pendo's case to Kisumu, push for speady prosecution
- Pathologist: Kianjokoma brothers died from blunt trauma, not fall from police vehicle
- Activists demand IPOA probe into mysterious death at Mombasa police station
Newton Kinyua, a security guard at Namuru Bar, told Judge Margaret Muigai that he saw one officer repeatedly strike Boniface Njiru with a long stick until he lost consciousness. His younger brother, Emmanuel Mutura, was also attacked by another officer.
Kinyua said he had hidden inside a public toilet but could see the events clearly under the bright lights.
“Benson and Mutura were in the company of four others when they came out of Namuru Bar and Restaurant on August 1, 2021, around 10 pm. When they saw the police vehicle, they ran in different directions because it was during the COVID-19 period, and a curfew was in place. A police officer wielding a long stick jumped from the vehicle and attacked Benson,” he told the court.
He explained that Mutura, who had been hiding inside the Wahome Building, came out to help his brother after seeing him being overpowered.
“Another officer, together with the stick-wielding cop, attacked Mutura, raining kicks and punches on him, sending him to the ground,” Kinyua recounted.
The court heard that the two officers then lifted the unconscious Boniface and placed him into a police Land Rover, while Mutura, still alive despite injuries, was helped into the vehicle before it drove off.
“The police vehicle sped towards Kianjokoma hospital. I later saw it leave the hospital after some time,” Kinyua said.
He added that he knew the brothers well because they ran a butchery in Kianjokoma, and he only learned the next day that they had died.
During cross-examination by defence lawyers Martina Swiga and Danstan Omari, Kinyua clarified that he did not see the brothers jump from a moving police vehicle.
The accused, James Mwaniki Njogu, Benson Mbuthia, Consolota Kariuki, Nicholas Cheruiyot, Martin Wanyama, and Lilian Cherono have denied all charges. They took a plea on August 17, 2021, and were released on bond.
Judge Muigai took over the case after the passing of Justice Daniel Ogembo, who had previously barred the accused from visiting Kianjokoma village until the matter was resolved.
Justice Ogembo had heard claims that the brothers jumped from a speeding vehicle and died instantly upon hitting the tarmac, a version that has since been disputed by other witnesses.
Testimonies will resume on February 12 and 19, 2026.
The deaths of the brothers had sparked widespread protests in Embu, during which one police vehicle was set on fire.
Top Stories Today
