The nine detained Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers of the defunct Special Service Unit (SSU) accused of killing two Indian nationals and their taxi driver, said that they are under pressure to incriminate former DCI boss George Kinoti in exchange for their release.
Through their attorney Danstan Omari, they told Chief Magistrate Diana Mochache that their arrest was politically instigated to get even.
“My clients are in this court because the state wants to use them to settle political scores,” Omari said.
“They are under pressure to implicate their commander and make him a state witness since he is the target,” he added.
Since the families of, Mohammed Said Sami, Zulfiqar Ahmed (the two Indian nationals) and Nicodemus Mwania (their taxi driver) renounced the bones and clothes that investigators recently pulled from the Aberdare forest, they said retaining them violates their rights, particularly the right to be released on bail or bond.
According to Omari, the bones and clothing that were purportedly recovered (and thought to belong to) the two Indians and their driver have been rejected by their relatives.
On July 22, the two Indian nationals were reportedly working with a digital media team affiliated with President William Ruto when they were kidnapped in Nairobi, close to Ole Sereni Hotel.
Investigative officer Michael Kirui, however, informed the court that since the investigations began, there have been threats against the lives of people associated with the case; as a result, releasing the accused on bail or bond might endanger the investigators.
“There is actual fear and worry. Preliminary investigations lead to a bigger network of people who have not yet been apprehended but are key sources of information for our inquiries,” Kirui stated in his affidavit.
The defense, however, wanted proof that the investigators’ lives and the lives of the other investigators are actually at risk.
“No OB has been shown to you to demonstrate that the person’s life has actually been in danger. The state has failed to establish that the respondents do in fact have a case to answer, and my clients have been detained for more than twenty days since their arrest,” said Omari.
The defense is objecting the accused to being subjected to a DNA test and their cellphones to forensic investigations.
Also, the defense team opposed the miscellaneous application last week, claiming that the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) lacked the authority to request the prosecution of the accused on behalf of their employer, the National Police Service (NPS).
They claimed that the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) or the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) handle matters involving police misconduct or violence.
The objections were however rejected by the court.
The magistrate’s decision on the prosecution’s request to hold the suspects in custody for 30 days was postponed to next Thursday.
According to court documents submitted to Kahawa courts last month, four police officials shared the responsibility of carrying out the two Indians and their driver’s execution.
In a sworn affidavit, Kirui named the defendants as Peter Muthee Gachiku, Francis Muendo Ndonye, John Mwangi Kamau, and Joseph Kamau Mbugua.
