Armoury Officer Admits Altered Firearm Records as DNA Links to Rex Kanyike

Rex Kanyike Masai/PHOTO: COURTESY

The inquest into the death of 29-year-old protester Rex Kanyike Masai resumed at the Milimani Law Courts today with fresh testimonies.

Corporal Fredrick Odera Okapesi, the officer in charge of the Central Police Station armoury, admitted there were irregularities in the arms movement register during the June 2024 protests.

“It is human to make mistakes, and I am human,” Okapesi told the court, insisting that the alterations were not deliberate attempts to mislead.

He was pressed on inconsistencies involving Corporal Isaiah Murangiri, whose records suggested he had been issued a firearm. Okapesi maintained, “Murangiri only received teargas canisters and rubber bullets, not a gun.”

During cross-examination, IPOA counsel David Tenge asked: “Is it possible that there were errors in the arms movement registry to protect Corporal Murangiri?” Okapesi dismissed this, saying it was not possible for one officer to sign out a firearm on behalf of another.

Separately, government analyst Henry Kiptoo Sang testified that DNA profiles generated from swab sticks collected at the scene matched those of the late Masai.

“The soil samples were stained with human blood but were decomposed, making it impossible to generate a DNA profile,” Sang said, adding that he had filed an official report in court.

The inquest continues on September 15. Masai died on June 20, 2024, after being shot in the thigh during the anti-Finance Bill demonstrations along Moi Avenue, Nairobi.