Bungei says no police operational order records to show who shot Rex Masai
Masai had been shot in the left thigh and bled to death as medics tried to save his life.
Former Nairobi Regional Police Commander Adamson Bungei has told an inquest into the murder of Gen Z activist Rex Kanyike Masai that there was no operational order at the time he was shot dead, and that different security agencies had responded to save the country from the "Congo situation".
Masai was shot and killed at the height of Gen Z protests in June 2024.
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The ensuing situation in Nairobi central business district (CBD) required officers from different security agencies including the National Police Service, Kenya Prisons Service and the National Youth Service (NYS) to act.
"It was a reactional act," said Bungei, adding that owing to the chaotic situation occasioned by huge crowds that were vandalising private property and destroying police vehicles, "police had to act".
He said the absence of the operational order means details of security officers deployed in Nairobi including the CBD cannot be available to help in identifying who shot Masai.
He said it was necessary to deploy as such to protect the citizens and property.
"Police deploy daily so the only thing that police did on that day was reacting to the situation and that was a reactional action that led to the deployment of each available police officer or security agency within the CBD," stated Bungei.
Emergency situation
"We did not have a specific deployment to mention a person was in charge of. It was an emergency situation that was being responded to and in police service, operational procedures depend on the situation to determine reactional action to be taken at that time of need."
Bungei, now the Kenya Police Service Director of Operations, said the CBD had been "invaded" by a group of persons calling themselves Gen Z which led to a full demonstration.
The deployment that followed was determined by the specific needs that occurred at that time and police were deployed to take action and to make sure all services came in, including the military team, he said.
He said that nothing had been reported in regards to the demonstrations but police had seen social media activities that had suggested there could be protests.
No report on demonstration
The top cop said there was no report in place on the (demonstrations) but police were on normal deployment, insisting that there were no specific records for the deployment.
Bungei said that on June 20, 2024, he received a call from the then Nairobi Central Sub-County Police Commander Doris Mugambi around 8 pm about a death reported by an attendant at Bliss Hospital, located on Tom Mboya Street.
The hospital attendant informed the police that the wounded patient had succumbed to his injuries.
Masai had been shot in the left thigh and bled to death as medics tried to save his life.
Bungei, who testified as the fifth witness, said in a situation like the one the security agencies were dealing with, Masai could have been shot by anyone, including a private gun-holder or a goon in the demonstrations.
The inquest is ongoing at the Milimani Law Courts before Senior Principal Magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo.
Upon being pressed to explain how police dealt with the situation without a plan, Bungei said there were officers deployed within Nairobi as usual but there was no operation order to respond to the rioters.
He said police could not prepare for the demonstrators because the demonstrators had not made a report to police of the intended demonstrations and, therefore, there was nothing to prepare for.
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