A senior police officer on Thursday told the High Court that two witnesses he spoke to after the deaths of the Kianjokoma brothers said they heard the pair utter the words “tujiokoe” while inside a moving police vehicle.
Chief Inspector of Police Peter Terer was testifying in the murder trial of six police officers charged over the deaths of brothers Benson Ndwiga and Emmanuel Ndwiga in Embu in August 2021.
While under cross-examination by defence lawyer Danstan Omari, Terer confirmed that several people had been arrested and booked in the occurrence book on the material night over alleged curfew violations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“All those arrested were taken and charged at the Embu Law Courts,” Terer told the court.
The officer testified that he spoke to two of the arrested persons.
According to Terer, one of them told him he had been seated next to the deceased brothers inside the police land rover.
“He (the witness) told me he was seated next to the two deceased persons, and on the way, he heard them talking to each other saying, ‘tujiokoe’ (let us save ourselves),” Terer said.
He told the court that he interpreted the words to mean the brothers intended to jump from the moving vehicle.
However, Terer admitted that he did not record statements from the two individuals.
Omari pointed out that the two witnesses were important in establishing the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the brothers.
It also emerged during the testimony that, according to the account given by the officer, the witnesses were inside the Land Rover while it was in motion.
When asked whether it was possible for someone to jump from the police vehicle, depending on the features of the Land Rover, Terer responded: “There is a possibility of somebody jumping.” Terer further testified that there were about 10 prisoners being transported at the time and six police officers on duty.
“Two police officers are allowed to sit in the driver’s cabin together with the driver, making it three,” he said.
“That means three officers were behind with the 10 prisoners. The three officers should be seated at the exit to guard against escape,” he added.
The officer told the court that only eight of the arrested persons were booked at the police station, while two were never brought there.
He said the incident occurred at night, and it was raining.
“It is unlikely the officers could see if someone jumped,” Terer said.
The court heard that photographic exhibits showed the bodies of the deceased lying on the left-hand side of the tarmac road.
Terer told the court the police vehicle had been travelling from Manyatta towards Mbuvori.
He further testified that he was informed of the deaths of the brothers by Corporal Benson Mbuthia, who was the duty officer on the material night.
He said he was at the police station when Mbuthia relayed the information to him at about 0045 hours.
“After receiving the information, I ordered Mbuthia to preserve the scene until the OCS arrived,” he told the court, adding that he also contacted the OCS and directed him to proceed to the scene of the incident.
The chief inspector testified that upon arrival at the scene, he observed the bodies of the two brothers lying on the tarmac in a pool of blood.
He said the six police officers were arrested, placed in custody, and treated as suspects as investigations commenced.
Notably, a pathologist had, in a previous hearing, told the court that the injuries sustained by the Kianjokoma brothers, leading to their death in Embu in August 2021, were not consistent with police accounts that they fell from a moving vehicle.
The pathologist who testified in the matter said both Benson Ndwiga and his brother Emmanuel Ndwiga died from severe head injuries caused by blunt force trauma.
The trial continues.
by JAMES GICHIGI
