Detective reveals how CCTV footage helped to trace movements of four murdered women

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A homicide detective on Wednesday gave a detailed account of how CCTV footage retrieved from multiple locations in Nairobi and Machakos county helped trace the final movements of four women allegedly abducted and killed in October 2024.

Corporal Lawrence Kamau, attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations’ Scene Construction, Processing and Autopsy Unit, testified that he received instructions on October 24, 2024, to assist in scene reconstruction and processing in relation to three of the victims.

During the proceedings, the court was shown CCTV footage retrieved from multiple locations across Nairobi.

The recordings were played in court to illustrate the movements of the victims and the grey motor vehicle.

The visuals included scenes from Albeit Building in Eastleigh, Total Energies Athi River, AD Site Limited in Parklands, Valley View Apartments, Valley Heights Apartments in Lavington, and Quickmart Lavington, providing a detailed timeline of the events as they unfolded.

Between October 24 and November 6, Kamau accompanied investigating officers Hassan Mohammed and Vincent Lagat to the various locations retrieving CCTV footage.

He told lady justice Margaret Muigai that he filed retrieval forms and conducted preview checks to ensure the footage was original, complete, and playable.

According to Kamau, the footage revealed a pattern of movements involving the victims and a grey motor vehicle believed to have been used in the abductions.

At Albeit Building, footage from October 21 showed a woman in black entering and exiting a lift before walking toward a grey vehicle.

Later that night at Total Energies Athi River, the same vehicle was seen refueling before driving off.

In the early hours of October 22, two women one in blue and another in a black hooded jumper were recorded leaving Albeit Building and eventually entering the car.

The footage then traced the vehicle to Valley View Apartments, where a woman alighted and returned to the car, and to AD Site Limited, where a something resembling body was on the ground.

According to Kamau, while the vehicle was reversing, it stepped on the object.

Bloodstains were later confirmed at the scene.

Kamau told the court that at 4:37am, on October 22, 2024, two individuals were seen approaching the camera, one dressed in blue garments, and a man in a white shirt and black trousers.

They walked toward the far end of the view and paused for several moments.

By 4:46am, the man walked off to the right, leaving the woman behind, before disappearing from view.

Later, at 5:07am, a small grey vehicle was seen approaching the camera.

A man returned to the vehicle with a woman dressed similarly to the one seen earlier.

At 5:08:39am, she entered the vehicle, which then reversed slowly toward the right side of the camera.

At Valley Heights Apartments in Lavington, on October 29, a woman in maroon garments was captured leaving the building and later shopping at Quickmart, carrying a supermarket-branded bag and a black bag with reddish paint.

On October 31, a man dressed in black shirt and blue trousers was seen leaving the apartment block carrying two bags, one resembling the woman’s black bag with reddish paint.

During cross-examination, Kamau admitted he could not identify the vehicle’s make or license plate, nor the driver’s identity, as the footage did not capture the face.

He also noted poor lighting and distance limited clarity.

The defence had earlier objected to Kamau’s testimony regarding Valley Heights Apartments, arguing he had not been instructed to investigate the fourth victim, Deka Abdi Noor, allegedly murdered at that location.

The prosecution countered that the sequence of events formed a continuous trail leading to her, arguing that she was still alive when Kamau began his assignment.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the opening statement told the court that they would rely on witness testimony from family members and acquaintances to describe the victims’ final moments, as well as expert reports, post-mortem findings, mental assessments, and government chemist reports, particularly regarding the fourth victim.

The prosecution also said they will rely on scene-of-crime photographs, vehicle tracking reports, and CCTV footage from multiple locations, which they said identified the victims and placed the accused at the same scenes.

“The evidence will establish a clear pattern of intent, betrayal of trust, and deliberate acts by the accused, which led to the deaths of four innocent women,” the DPP said.

“The victims in this case who are female gender, were targeted their lives extinguished simply because they stood in his path.”

The defence argued that the prosecution had not proven the case beyond reasonable doubt.

They described much of the evidence as uncorroborated and said they would demonstrate that the accused is innocent of all charges.

The defence asked the court to find the accused, Hashim Dagane alias Hashim Khalif, not guilty and grant a full acquittal.

The hearing is set to resume on March 26, 2026.