Police to deploy senior investigators as Rex Masai inquest uncovers new witnesses

Senior investigators will now take over the probe into the killing of Gen Z activist Rex Masai, after the National Police Service (NPS) raised concerns that investigations by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) were incomplete and lacking crucial evidence.

In its submission to a Nairobi court, the NPS, through its lawyers G & A Advocates, warned that failure to address the omissions could result in a miscarriage of justice.

“The death of Rex Masai is a matter of great public importance. Justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done,” the NPS said before Senior Principal Magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo.

The police urged the magistrate not to allow the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to close the inquest until all critical evidence is presented.

“No stone should be left unturned, particularly in a matter where life was lost,” the Service added.

The NPS criticised both IPOA and the DPP for what it described as “incomplete and lackadaisical” investigations, arguing that the evidence presented so far was insufficient and risked letting the culprits escape accountability.

Among the areas the police want revisited are statements from eyewitnesses to the shooting, CCTV footage from a nearby bank, photographic identification, arms movement registers, ballistic analysis of a Ceska pistol, medical testimony and evidence from the property manager of International Life House, where the shooting occurred.

To date, only the arms register from Central Police Station has been provided, yet officers from several stations, including Kamakunji, Kilimani, Ngara and Parliament were deployed during the protests.

The NPS said all relevant registers must be examined to determine which firearm was discharged.

“The omission to scrutinise these registers creates the perception of a superficial or predetermined investigation,” the lawyers submitted.

The police also identified George Ndickers Abuti, a close friend of Masai, as a key eyewitness who has not yet testified. In his IPOA statement, Abuti said he was with Masai when police opened fire and carried him to Bliss Hospital, where he later died.

October 30, 2025, the planned closure of the inquest failed to materialise following the introduction of 10 additional witnesses. Among them are Dr Lawrence Machira of Bliss Hospital Ndickers, both of whom were among the last to see Masai alive.

The NPS urged the court to compel the DPP not to close the inquest before hearing the testimony of these witnesses.

“NPS reserves the right to have the DPP himself summoned to testify in this inquest and explain why he thought Rex Masai was killed by a police officer,” the NPS lawyers told Magistrate Onsarigo.

The police argued that the DPP, Renson Ingonga, ordered IPOA to commence investigations barely 12 hours after the shooting, without allowing NPS’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to conduct its own probe.

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“I have been instructed by NPS to seek summons for Ingonga to attend court and testify,” the lawyers said.

A bid by the DPP, through counsel Jalson Makori, and IPOA to summon Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat was shelved after NPS insisted it would summon the DPP personally.

During the session, former Nairobi sub-county police commander Dorris Mugambi was recalled to testify for a third time regarding an operations order. The court also reviewed a letter from DIG Lagat, which stated there were no operational orders in Nairobi to manage the June 2024 anti-government protests.

“The DIG is also a person of interest because he has been summoned and did not come. We urge this court to order him to testify so as to shed light on some issues in respect of the current matter,” IPOA’s lawyer said.

Lagat’s letter noted, “Please note that there is no operation order in respect of response to all the assemblies, demonstrations, picketing, and petitions as outlined in Article 37 of the Constitution, or any unlawful or riotous assemblies within the meaning of Sections 78 to 89 of the Penal Code.”

IPOA added that while operational orders existed for Mombasa and Siaya counties, Nairobi’s orders were missing.

After a heated exchange between NPS, IPOA, the DPP, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), and the victims’ family, the issue of summoning DIG Lagat was shelved. The court allowed ten minutes for the parties to agree on the remaining witnesses before the inquest could close.

When proceedings resumed shortly before 5 pm, the parties agreed not to summon DIG Lagat, with NPS stating it would summon the DPP instead to avoid turning the inquest “into a circus.”

Magistrate Onsarigo adjourned the inquest to November 11, 2025, for further directions.

Masai was killed during the June 2024 protests against the shelved 2024 Finance Bill, which left over 60 demonstrators dead.