Justice Muchelule’s gun mystery: Missing Beretta Pistol turns up in dead robber’s hands

A Court of Appeal judge’s missing firearm has become the centrepiece of a widening police investigation after the weapon was recovered from a suspected armed robber killed in a shootout with detectives, raising troubling questions about firearm security, licensing compliance and whether legal obligations were observed.

Court of Appeal Judge Justice Aggrey Muchelule is among at least six people who have so far recorded statements with Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives investigating how his Beretta pistol disappeared from his residence before resurfacing in the hands of a man linked to the high-profile robbery at Chaiiwala Café in Westlands.

Investigators have also questioned members of the judge’s family and domestic staff as they seek to establish how the pistol vanished from what is understood to have been a locked safe at his New Kitisuru home without his knowledge.

Gun recovered after fatal shootout

The firearm, a Beretta pistol bearing serial number H20930Y, was recovered on July 13, 2026 during a raid by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) at House Number 15 on the second floor of a building in Joska, Machakos County.

According to the DCI, officers had acted on intelligence indicating one of the suspects involved in the July 4, 2026 robbery at Chaiiwala Café was hiding at the location.

“The suspect sensed the presence of officers before they could gain access to the house and started shooting at them. The officers responded swiftly, fatally shooting him and recovered the pistol loaded with four rounds of ammunition,” the DCI said.

Detectives also recovered three mobile phones and a birth certificate bearing the names Vincent Ochieng Were.

Police later established that the deceased was one of four suspects captured on CCTV carrying out the daring daytime robbery at the popular Westlands restaurant.

It was only after ballistics examinations that investigators traced the recovered pistol to Justice Muchelule.

Judge says he never knew the gun was missing

In his statement to investigators, Justice Muchelule said he only realised the firearm had disappeared after police contacted him following its recovery.

The judge told detectives he had last seen the pistol in October last year when he intended to renew his firearm certificate.

He said he does not ordinarily carry the weapon and had kept it safely at his residence.

According to his account, the Beretta was loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition when it was last stored.

When detectives recovered it from the suspected robber, however, only four rounds remained, suggesting that 11 rounds had been discharged or removed while the weapon was out of the judge’s possession.

Licence had expired

The DCI has confirmed that although Justice Muchelule is a licensed firearm holder, his firearm certificate expired in October last year.

The judge reportedly told investigators he had intended to renew the licence but failed to complete the process because of work commitments.

The disclosure has brought renewed scrutiny to Kenya’s firearm licensing regime and the obligations imposed on civilian firearm holders.

Citizen TV has established that licensed firearm holders receive annual text message reminders from the Firearms Licensing Board notifying them when renewal is due.

Those who fail to renew their licences are liable to pay a penalty of Sh500 per day, while prolonged non-compliance may result in revocation of the firearm certificate.

Questions over storage and reporting

Investigators are also examining whether the disappearance of the firearm should have been detected earlier.

Justice Muchelule is understood to have owned the pistol for more than a decade.

Under the Firearms Act, every firearm holder is legally required to keep any firearm in his or her possession securely at all times and to take all reasonable precautions to ensure it is neither lost nor stolen.

Civilian firearms must be stored in an approved secure metal safe or lockable storage box.

Before a firearm certificate is issued, the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) is required to inspect the applicant’s storage arrangements and submit a compliance report to the Firearms Licensing Board.

The law further provides that where a firearm is lost or stolen, the owner must report the loss immediately to the nearest police station.

Failure to report a missing firearm constitutes an offence punishable by a fine of up to Sh10,000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both.

Whether those provisions were complied with now forms part of the ongoing investigations.

Rigorous licensing process

Ironically, the firearm at the centre of the investigation was originally issued through one of Kenya’s most stringent licensing processes.

Obtaining a civilian firearm certificate begins with an application through the local Officer Commanding Station.

The application undergoes several layers of vetting, starting at the police station before moving to the sub-county level, where a multi-agency security committee comprising the National Police Service, Administration Police, National Government Administration Officers and intelligence personnel reviews the applicant.

It is then escalated to the regional level before undergoing comprehensive background checks by the National Intelligence Service.

Only after clearance by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) is the application forwarded to the Firearms Licensing Board, which has the final authority to approve or reject the request.

Applicants must also undergo medical assessments confirming they are mentally and physically fit to possess firearms.

Authorities additionally examine an applicant’s occupation, business interests, financial standing and reasons for requiring a firearm, with supporting documents including bank statements forming part of the assessment.

The process can take anywhere between one month and three years.

Detectives are now attempting to reconstruct how the Beretta left Justice Muchelule’s residence, who may have accessed it and how it eventually found its way into the possession of an alleged armed robber linked to one of Nairobi’s most brazen restaurant robberies.

According to detectives privy with the probe, the investigation will be extended not only the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the firearm but also compliance with the Firearms Act, the timeline of events between October last year and its recovery in July, and whether any criminal offences may have been committed.