The jurist told police on July 14 that he only realized his firearm, a Beretta pistol, serial number *H20930Y*—was missing from his heavily secured Kitusuru home when investigators contacted him to reveal it had been seized in Athi River South Sub-County on Monday evening, July 13, 2026.
In a police report recorded at the Spring Valley police station, Muchelule said he does not usually carry the firearm.
“He further stated that the last time he physically checked it was in October 2025, when he intended to renew his firearm licence. However, he later forgot to complete the renewal process,” reads the police report.
According to ongoing investigations, the firearm was used by criminals to stage the robbery at the Chaiiwali restaurant along General Mathenge Road in Spring Valley, Westlands, on July 4.
The breakthrough followed a joint operation by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), who traced a key suspect, Vincent Ochieng, to a residential hideout in Joska.
Ochieng, who police say was a member of a dangerous criminal ring operating across Nairobi, Kiambu, and Machakos, was killed in a fierce exchange of fire after he barricaded himself inside the house and shot at the cornering officers.
He left behind the loaded Beretta, extra ammunition, and several mobile phones.
Detectives from the DCI Criminal Research and Investigation Bureau later confirmed the firearm belonged to the Court of Appeal judge, and a thorough probe is now underway to determine the exact circumstances under which the jurist lost the weapon.
“Yes, this weapon was identified as the one used in the July 4, 2026, robbery of the Chaiiwali Café in Westlands,” a detective close to the investigation told Citizen Digital.
During the robbery incident, masked gunmen stormed the establishment and terrorized shaken patrons, stealing valuable electronic devices. The raid was captured on surveillance cameras.
The viral footage sparked widespread public outrage, prompting a high-priority forensic probe to track the stolen items, map out the gang’s movements.
While Justice Muchelule maintained he was entirely unaware of the security breach at his home until the police notification, the firearm remains under further specialized ballistic testing to check for links to other unsolved crimes as a massive manhunt intensifies for Ochieng’s surviving accomplices.
Police say they are determined and are working tirelessly to dismantle armed gangs in Nairobi, Kilifi, Nyanza, Western, and other parts of the country as part of an ongoing multi-agency operation coordinated from the DCI headquarters.
