The Kiambu High Court has ordered a mental assessment of 15 suspects accused of murdering two Indian nationals and their Kenyan taxi driver before they can plead.
The suspects, who include members from various security agencies such as the disbanded Special Services Unit (SSU) of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), will be held at Kiambu Police Station.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has approved charges of three counts of murder against each of them.
According to the charge sheet, the alleged murders of Indians Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan, Mohammed Zaid Sami, and Kenyan Nicodemus Mwania Mwange occurred on the night of July 22/23, 2022, near Ole Sereni Hotel along Mombasa Road in Nairobi County.
Sami and Khan had reportedly arrived in Kenya in April 2022 to join then Deputy President William Ruto’s ICT campaign team for the August General Election.
A witness testified previously that government vehicles were used to track, capture, and dispose of the bodies in Aberdares National Park, Nyeri County.
During a March hearing at Kahawa Law Courts in Kiambu County, the witness detailed that a vehicle linked to SSU, registration GKB 038U, was logged entering Tree Tops gate of the park at 6:34 pm on July 22, 2022, beyond official visiting hours of 6 am to 6 pm.
The vehicle was not recorded in the gate’s register, according to Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) records.
The witness also mentioned that 20 mobile phones belonging to the accused were seized, analyzed forensically by DCI, and then sent to the Communications Authority of Kenya for further investigation in India.
Among the communications retrieved, one exchange on October 16 involved Corporal John Mwangi Kamau and Corporal Joseph Mwenda Mbaya discussing revisiting the scene, where Kamau referred to another accused person as “Tanki alienda.”
The accused include Corporals John Mwangi Kamau, Joseph Mwenda Mbaya, David Chepchieng Kipsoi, Hillary Limo Kipchumba, Joseph Kamau Mbugua, Simon Muhuga Gikonyo, Paul Njogu Muriithi, Elikana Njeru Mugendi, Fredrick Thuku Kamau, and Chief Inspector Peter Muthee Gachiku, Inspector James Kibosek Tanuki, Constables Stephen Luseno Matunda, Boniface Otieno Mtulla, John Wanjiku Macharia, and Michael Kiplangat Bett.
The case is scheduled for a plea hearing on June 25, 2024, at the High Court.
