Police watched as Rex Masai died after he was shot during protests, court told

Anti-riot police officers rejected a plea from a protester to help an "unidentified man" believed to be Rex Masai who was lying on the road, after he was wounded, and told the protester to let him die, the court was told on Thursday.

Laban Njoroge, a boda boda rider from Zambezi in Kiambu County witnessed the unidentified man writhing in pain, unattended as police watched.

A protester had pleaded with the cops to help the wounded man who had been shot but the cops said "huyo wacha akufie hapo".

Laban told the inquest into the murder of Rex who was among the Gen Z activists taking part in the Anti-Finance Bill protests on June 24, 2024, that he witnessed the incident but could not identify the injured.

He also said he could not tell the name of the street where the incident happened but only recalled it was not very far from where he and another protester had been cornered and clobbered.

"I could not do anything as I had already been injured and was in pain. I focused on myself," stated Laban. He was also in pain as he and fellow protester Mekatilili Mweru had been tortured not very far from the man lay.

Rex was shot along Tom Mboya Street in Nairobi in the evening as protesters left the Central Business District (CBD).

Mekatilili and Laban testified in the inquest before Senior Principal Magistrate Geoffrey Onsaringo of the Milimani High Court.

Laban said the protests in the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) were okay during the day as they (protesters) would regroup after police dispersed them.

"It changed after around 6:40 pm onwards when police turned very violent," he stated.

Turned away

Laban recalled how they begged a watchman at one of the buildings to allow them to take cover in the building but he turned them away before police cornered them.

He said police caught up with them after the security guard declined to open the doors for them.

"The police followed us and beat us mercilessly until they were satisfied and left us fighting for our lives," Njoroge told the court.

Additionally, Njoroge told the court that from the beating he was left with injuries in his hand, head and pelvis.

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However, Njoroge said that he did not witness any police shooting a live bullet and also he cannot say whether there were police in civilian clothes that day.

Prosecution counsel Jalson Makori representing the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) sought to have the proceedings adjourned to a later date.

He told the court that the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) needed some more time to get hold of important documents to be used in the next hearing.

There are 10 more witnesses expected to testify and shed light on what happened in the quest to identify who is responsible for shooting Rex.

Those set to testify include officers in charge of (OCSs) of Nairobi Central and Kamukunji police stations and the officer who was in charge of the armoury at the Central police station.

The hearings resume on May 12, 2025, then June 9, 2025, and June 19, 2025.