Safaricom data links prime suspect to Nairobi CBD on day Rex Masai was killed
Testifying before trial magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo, Zachary Mburu, a senior manager at Safaricom, said the company had been served with court orders requiring it to provide call data records and location details for several mobile numbers under investigation.
A senior manager with Safaricom has told a Nairobi court that mobile phone records placed prime suspect Isaiah Murangiri at key locations within the central business district (CBD) around the time of university student Rex Masai’s death.
Testifying before trial magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo, Zachary Mburu, a senior manager at Safaricom, said the company had been served with court orders requiring it to provide call data records and location details for several mobile numbers under investigation between June 18 and 20, 2024.
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Mburu told the court that data linked to a number registered to Murangiri showed activity at St. Ellis House on June 20 at 11:20 a.m., and again between 3:56 p.m. and 6:21 p.m. Later that evening, the same number was traced near the Kencom area.
"On June 20, 2024, the number under the name of Isaiah Murangiri was active and showed multiple records within the CBD," Mburu testified.
He added that while another of Murangiri’s registered lines showed only a single SMS within the CBD and no other activity during the three days in question, a different line registered to him generated 30 records between June 18 and 19.
Those records included sustained call activity traced to Windsor House, Accra Road and Corner House, beginning as early as 7:16 a.m. and continuing until 8:00 p.m.
Mburu also revealed that a number registered to Benson Thiru Kamau was traced to KBC Towers from 5:00 p.m. on the same dates, while a line under Michael Okello showed no activity on June 19.
During cross-examination, Murangiri had earlier claimed he was no longer using the number in question. But Mburu clarified that, as of the date of the court order, Safaricom records still listed Murangiri as the registered owner of the active line.
"The details presented before the court confirmed that on June 20, 2024, the number was under the name of Isaiah Murangiri, and it was active," Mburu said.
Murangiri remains the prime suspect in the killing of Rex Masai, who died from a gunshot wound during protests in Nairobi.
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