Police officers from four stations have yet to record statements with the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) over the shooting of Rex Masai during the 2024 protests, a court has heard.
The issue came up on Thursday during the inquest into Masai’s death at the Milimani Law Courts.
IPOA told the court that officers from Parliament, KICC, Kamukunji and Kilimani police stations had not complied with an earlier order requiring them to record statements with the oversight body.
IPOA lawyer David Tenge said the officers had been summoned to give their accounts of what happened.
“You gave an order that police officers at Parliament Police Station, KICC Police Station, Kamukunji Police Station and Kilimani Police Station record statements,” Tenge told the court.
“Until now the summons has not been honoured. Let them come and record statements with IPOA so that we take their witness accounts,” he added.
Lawyer Manasses Mwangi, representing International Justice Mission, also told the court that no officer from the four stations had recorded a statement.
The National Police Service said it was still trying to locate the relevant records. Its lawyer, Antony Mwangi, told the court that some of the officers responsible for keeping records at the stations had either been transferred or left the service.
“We are in the process of collating records, but we realised it will take longer,” Mwangi said.
The court was also told that checks at Kilimani Police Station did not show any of its officers had been deployed to Nairobi’s Central Business District on the day Masai was killed.
Masai, 29, was shot on June 20, 2024, along Moi Avenue in Nairobi’s CBD during demonstrations against the Finance Bill 2024.
He was shot in the thigh and taken to Bliss Hospital on Moi Avenue, where he died while receiving treatment.
His death was among the first widely reported fatalities during the Gen Z-led protests. Video footage from the scene showed a police officer firing as protesters ran away.
The prosecution has opposed further delays in the inquest.
Prosecution lawyer Jalson Makori told the court that the evidence already presented was enough for the court to make a decision on the matter.
“We believe what we have already presented to this court is relevant and sufficient for this court to make a determination,” Makori said.
The inquest is expected to resume on Monday as the court continues hearing evidence on the circumstances surrounding Masai’s death.
