The former Nairobi Regional Commander, Adamson Bungei Wednesday distanced himself from the alleged police killings that occurred during the Gen Z protests on the night of June 20, 2024
Bungei insisted that no gunfire took place that night.
Bungei told senior principal magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo that it is not only police officers who have access to firearms adding that he only heard about the death of Rex Maasai from the then Central sub county commander.
“Shooting does not mean that it’s only the police officer who shoot, unless the police are aware, we cannot confirm a situation,” Bungei said.
“The shooting confirmed was only through post mortem.”
Bungei told the court that police personnel from various units were deployed on the day of the incident.
He however, stated that the deployment was carried out in response to the situation at hand and was not guided by a formal operation order.
He stated that he could not provide details to the court regarding how the officers were assigned duties during patrols on that day.
“I cannot provide the operation order because there was no operation order,” Bungei said.
Bungei clarified that security forces, including the police, the National Youth Service (NYS), and other multi-agency teams, had been deployed as part of routine security measures.
“Police deployment is daily and the police were reacting to the situation,We had the military team …..that was a multi agency response,” he said.
As the officer in charge of overseeing security and law enforcement in the region, Bungei insisted that reports he received indicated no other deaths occurred on the day of the demonstrations.
He maintained that while police were deployed as part of their standard operations, no officer under his command was aware of any shooting incident until the post-mortem findings were released.
Bungei claimed that he was unaware of whether Rex Masai sustained any injuries and, if he did, he could not confirm whether the injuries resulted from a gunshot adding that the police launched investigations only after learning the post-mortem results.
“I’m not aware that the excessive bleeding was due to the wound by a bullet,” he said.
Bungei was testifying in court to help establish who was responsible for the death of Rex Masai during the Gen Z protests last year.
He also noted that the police department had no prior knowledge of the protests and only became aware of them through social media.
Police officer Isaiah Muraguri Ndumba attached to the anti-mugging unit at the time on his part denied allegations linking him to the fatal shooting of Rex Maasai.
The officer insists he was on duty at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) on the day of the incident and was only armed with a teargas launcher, not a firearm.
According to his statement, the officer was deployed at KICC by the Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD)
He told the magistrate that several units, including the General Service Unit (GSU), the Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU), and general duty officers, were stationed at various locations in the CBD.
“I was deployed at KICC from 5 am and did not leave until 6pm. I was only armed with a teargas launcher, which cannot kill anyone. The claims that I shot someone were false,” Ndumba said.
Ndumbi claims he remained at his assigned post between 5 am and 6 pm and did not leave the area during that time.
Addressing allegations circulating on social media, Ndumba stated that his images and personal details have been widely shared, accusing him of being the officer who fired the fatal shot.
He expressed distress over the online accusations, stating that his family has also been affected.
“Since my name was put on social media, it has affected me and my family. People are posting my pictures, claiming I am facing murder charges, yet I am a witness in this case,” he said.
He further argued that criminals in Nairobi can access the same weapons as the police, including firearms and teargas canisters, adding that those seen in the viral footage of the shooting might not be law enforcement officers.
“The individuals in the video do not resemble police officers. If they were, they would have been accompanied by uniformed officers. The police are issued with official batons, not the ones seen in the video,” he stated.
Ndumba maintains that he did not fire a gun and that the allegations against him are false.
However, evidence shows that his phone was detected roaming from NSSF, to the Intercontinental Hotel, and then to Kencom during the same time frame.
When asked about this, Ndumba claimed the phone number in question was once his but stated that he had switched to a different mobile provider and no longer used the number.
“I stopped using the number. I don’t remember when. The only reason I stopped using it I found Airtel which is cheaper than Safaricom. I don’t know where it went but I never gave it to anyone,” the court heard.
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