"All police cameras were offline": Ex-DCI officer reveals major obstacle in Rex Masai shooting probe
Ekisa highlighted the lack of cooperation from local business owners, many of whom refused to provide CCTV footage, further hampering the investigation.
Former sub-county Criminal Investigations Officer Tiberius Ekisa has told a Nairobi court that he was informed all National Police Service cameras had been offline during the June 2024 anti-government protests due to fibre optic connectivity issues.
Ekisa highlighted the lack of cooperation from local business owners, many of whom refused to provide CCTV footage, further hampering the investigation.
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He added that in an attempt to gather more evidence, he wrote to the Integrated Command and Control Centre (IC3) at Jogoo House requesting surveillance footage.
Ekisa was giving a detailed account of the investigation on Thursday into the fatal shooting of Rex Masai, who died last year in the protests.
He explained before Milimani trial magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo that as part of the investigation, he visited both the scene of the incident and the hospital where the deceased had been taken in an effort to establish the exact location of the shooting.
However, he reported that the hospital did not cooperate with police inquiries.
"Officers were able to narrow down the likely location of the shooting with the help of security guards who were present in the vicinity at the time. Despite combing the area, officers did not recover any bullet casings or projectiles from the scene," he said.
Addressing questions about a police unit referred to as "Alpha-Mike", Ekisa stated he was unaware of such a unit, adding that police teams often use different call signs.
He clarified that the entire Central Business District of Nairobi was under his jurisdiction and firmly denied authorising any use of lethal force.
"I did not give any shoot-to-kill orders on June 18 or 20," he said. "In fact, there were no casualties reported in areas where my officers were deployed," he added.
On Wednesday, Constable Isaiah Murangeri, the police officer linked to the fatal shooting of Gen-Z protester Rex Masai, denied any resemblance to the individual captured in photos and videos presented as evidence in the inquest.
Murangiri was recalled to testify for a second time in court regarding the shooting incident that occurred on June 18, 2025.
Despite the striking similarities in appearance, including matching birthmarks between Murangiri and the person seen in the images taken on the day of the shooting, the officer insisted he was not on duty.
He told the court that he was at home in Ngara, taking care of his sick child.
One of the photos presented to presiding magistrate Geoffrey Osarigo shows a man closely resembling Murangiri dressed in plain clothes, armed with a riot gun and carrying a walkie-talkie, walking alongside uniformed anti-riot police officers.
Murangiri maintained that, despite this visual evidence, he was not present on Moi Avenue, the location where Rex Masai was allegedly shot.
The hearing of the case continues on Monday next week.
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