This archive report was first published on 27 August 2021.
On August 1, 2021, Benson Njiru and Emmanuel Mutura, two Embu brothers, tragically lost their lives in a case that has sparked widespread outrage. The incident occurred during a police operation, and the brothers were allegedly killed by the officers involved.
According to the police officers' lawyer, Danstan Omari, the suspects claim that the brothers died from a suicidal act after jumping out of a moving vehicle. However, this account contradicts the testimony of witnesses who stated that the victims were hit with a baton on the head until they passed away.
The six officers, Martin Wanyama, Lilian Cherono, James Mwaniki, Benson Mbuthia, Consolata Kariuki, and Nicholas Cheruiyot, have filed a case under the certificate of urgency, seeking the exhumation of the brothers' bodies. They argue that they were not represented during the postmortem, which revealed that the siblings died from blunt force trauma caused by head and ribs injuries.
The officers also want an inquest to be carried out before the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) prefers any charges against them. Furthermore, they have requested the court to order the return of their confiscated mobile phones, which they claim are essential for sending money to their families and lawyers.
The matter will be mentioned in court on Tuesday next week. The Independent Policing Authority (IPOA) has already positively linked the six officers to the murder of the two university students.
