Government vehicles were used to trail, capture and dispose of the bodies of a Kenyan taxi driver and two Indian nationals in the Aberdares National Park, Nyeri County in July 2022, a witness has told the court.
Fifteen suspects, among them thirteen Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers are facing trial in connection with the disappearance of Mohamed Zaid Sami, Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan and their driver Nicodemus Mwania Mwange.
During a hearing before Kahawa Law Courts in Kiambu County on Tuesday, the witness said the vehicles were attached to the now-defunct Special Services Unit (SSU) of the DCI.
He said one vehicle, registration GKB 038U, was captured in the car tracking logs entering the Tree Tops gate of the park at 6:34 pm on July 22, 2022, which is beyond the official 6 am to 6 pm park visiting hours.
The vehicle was also not recorded in the gate vehicle register book as per the records retrieved from Kenya Wildlife Service gate registers, the court heard.
The witness said 20 mobile phones belonging to the accused persons were confiscated and presented to DCI for forensic analysis before being handed over to the Communications Authority of Kenya for further analysis.
They were then taken to India for additional analysis to gather more information regarding the occurrences of that period when the three victims were allegedly abducted.
One of the phones showed correspondence between Corporal John Mwangi Kamau and Corporal Joseph Mwenda Mbaya on October 16, in which Mbaya enquired from Kamau about re-visiting the scene to clear it.
Kamau is seen to have responded “Tanki alienda,” referring to one of the accused persons.
Corporal Kamau and Corporal Mbaya are accused alongside Chief Inspector Peter Muthee Gachiku, Inspector James Kibosek Tanuki, Corporals Joseph Kamau Mbugua, David Chepchieng Kipsoi, Hillary Limo Kipchumba, Constables Stephen Luseno Matunda, Simon Muhuga Gikonyo, Paul Njogu Muriithi, Boniface Otieno Mtulla, Elikana Njeru Mugendi, Fredrick Thuku Kamau, as well as John Wanjiku Macharia and Michael Kiplangat Bett.
The 15 are charged with abduction with intent to murder; conspiracy to commit a felony; subjecting a person to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment; and committing cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
They are also facing charges of cooperating in the execution of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and forgery.
Mr Sami and Mr Khan are said to have arrived in Kenya in April 2022 to join the then deputy president William Ruto’s ICT campaign team ahead of the August 2022 General Election.
They went missing on July 25 after they were abducted outside the Ole Sereni Hotel in Nairobi.
The case is set for further hearing on June 20.
