Sh72m bank heist: My husband wasn’t a gangster, but a hospital worker

Police in the dock

Six police officers charged with murdering Wycliffe Vincent Owuor in the dock at the High Court Milimani on January 17, 2023.

Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group

The widow of a slain Sh72 million bank robbery suspect has defended her late husband, saying he was not a notorious and most wanted gangster.

While testifying against six police officers who have been charged with murdering her husband Wycliffe Vincent Owuor at a Nairobi court on Tuesday, Ms Dorcas Wamaitha Ngugi told Justice Mugure Thande that her husband worked at a city hospital and was not an armed robber.  

She told the court that she was shocked to see a photograph of her husband’s body with a pistol and a knife beside it. Mr Owuor was gunned down in Kayole, Nairobi, on May 24, 2020. 

Dorcas Wamaitha Ngugi gives her testimony at the Milimani Law Courts on January 17, 2023.

Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group

During the cross-examination defence lawyer, Danstan Omari asked Ms Ngugi whether she knew if her husband had a pistol.

She said that she had not seen her husband with a gun at their homes in Thika and Nairobi. 

Police officers Joseph Ogode Odhiambo, Henry Mutai, Bashir Ali, Charles Kirimi, James Ngige and Vincent Odhiambo have been charged with murdering Mr Owuor.

Ms Ngugi told the court that she learnt that her late husband was a robber when he was arrested in Kendu Bay town within Homa Bay County. Sh7 million which was believed to be part of the Sh72 million stolen from SCB in 2020 was recovered.

Ms Ngugi told the court that her husband had been acquitted in the Sh72 million bank heist. 

She told the court that she went to the City Mortuary where she identified her husband’s body which had bullet holes in the neck and chest.

She said they moved from Nairobi to Thika since the police had threatened her husband. Mr Owuor was gunned down as soon as he arrived in Nairobi.

The officers, who have denied murdering Owuor on May 24, 2020, are out on bond.

The deceased had been charged alongside Chris Ayienda, Duncan Kaveshe, Boniface Mutua, Alex Mutuku and Francis Muriuki in the bank heist. The hearing continues.