Court of Appeal Judge Justice Aggrey Muchelule is among six people who have recorded statements with detectives investigating the mysterious disappearance of his firearm, which was later recovered from a slain suspect linked to the high-profile Chaiiwali Café robbery two weeks ago.
Among those who recorded statements include family members and domestic staff at the judge’s residence.
The police are seeking to establish how the pistol vanished from a locked safe before surfacing in the hands of an alleged criminal.
Police investigating the disappearance of a Beretta pistol belonging to Justice Muchelule said they have questioned six people in connection with the case.
Muchelul recorded his statement at the Spring Valley police station on Tuesday while members of his family and domestic staff all recorded statements with detectives the following day following the recovery of the firearm from slain suspected armed robber Vincent Ochieng.
The workers denied knowledge of the weapon saying they never accessed the safe where it was kept.
Justice Muchelule said he only discovered the pistol was missing on Tuesday after receiving a call from officers who had recovered it following a shootout with Ochieng in Joska, Machakos County.
The judge told investigators he had last checked on the firearm in October, 2025 while preparing to renew his firearm licence but was unable to complete the process due to work commitments.
Questions have since emerged over the delay or failure in reporting the disappearance of the firearm, which the judge is reported to have owned for more than 10 years.
Civilian firearm holders receive annual text message reminders from the Firearms Licensing Board to renew their firearm licences.
Those who fail to renew their licences are required to pay a penalty of Sh500 per day and risk having their licences permanently revoked.
Under the Firearms Act, civilian firearm holders are required to store their weapons in a secure metal box or safe.
The law further requires the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) to inspect the storage facility before submitting a compliance report to the Firearms Licensing Board.
In the event a firearm is lost, the owner is required by law to report the loss immediately to the nearest police station.
Failure to report the loss is an offence punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, a fine not exceeding Sh10,000, or both.
There is pressure for police to take action on the issue. Police handling the saga said they will follow the law.
The suspect had been linked to a series of robberies in the city and elsewhere before he was trailed and killed in Joska area on Monday in a confrontation.
The latest incident he was linked to was the Chaiiwali Café attack along General Mathenge Road in Westlands on July 4, 2026, police said.
He and his accomplices attacked customers and robbed them of their mobile phones and a laptop, shot to the air and escaped on a waiting motorcycle.
The suspect was trailed to the Joska area nine days later and shot dead by police.
After securing the house, officers recovered a Beretta pistol fitted with a magazine loaded with four rounds of 9mm ammunition.
Additional live rounds, spent cartridges and three mobile phones were also recovered from the scene.
The firearm was forwarded to the National Police Service Forensic Laboratory for ballistic analysis to establish whether it was used in other violent crimes and its ownership.
It was then that police established the firearm had been licensed and issued to the judge of the Court of Appeal in Nairobi.
The judge was summoned by police and reported he had lost the firearm. This was after he was informed the weapon had been recovered from a suspected criminal in Joska, Machakos County.
Police said they had launched investigations to establish how the firearm disappeared from the judge’s residence.
Authorities are also expected to establish the circumstances under which the firearm may have left the judge’s possession and whether any criminal offences were committed.
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