Top row (from left): Chris Msando, Kipyegon Kenei and Bunty Shah. Bottom row (from left): Daniel Mbolu Musyoka, Dafton Mwitiki and Mwenda Mbijiwe.
Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss Mohammed Amin has maintained studious silence regarding investigations into some of high-profile murders and disappearances that remain unresolved for years now.
Mr Amin did not respond to queries by the Nation on the status of investigations into four murder cases that gripped the attention of the country when they occurred.
These include the murder of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) ICT boss Chris Msando, Administration Police Sergeant Kipyegon Kenei who was attached to the Office of the Deputy President (then William Ruto) and Bunty Shah, son to Bobmil Industries owner Vipin Shah.
The Nation had also sought answers on the killing of Daniel Mbolu Musyoka, who was the Embakasi East IEBC returning officer, and an update on the disappearances of businessman Dafton Mwitiki and security analyst Mwenda Mbijiwe.
Many of these cases happened before Mr Amin was appointed the DCI boss.
On the morning of February 20, 2021, then DCI boss George Kinoti had to cut short an official function in Mombasa.
On arriving at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport around 9am, Mr Kinoti went straight to Villa Franca estate in Imara Daima. He had been briefed about the murder of Kenei.
Mr Kinoti would then hold a series of press conferences at the DCI headquarters on Kiambu road. In one of his press briefings, he ruled out the possibility that the officer had committed suicide and went ahead to reveal the shocking details of the murder.
The DCI boss said that Kenei was killed by powerful individuals.
There were reports that days before his body was found, he had been linked to a fraudulent Sh39 billion military arms tender. Some high-profile individuals were reported to be at the centre of this tender.
Mr Kinoti concluded that Kenei was eliminated to conceal evidence regarding the botched tender.
When Mr Kinoti arrived at the scene of murder, he is said to have ordered homicide investigators to return the body to the scene for thorough processing after suspecting foul play.
On March 5, he held a press brief at the DCI headquarters and graphically re-enacted the scene to the journalists to impress upon them that Kenei’s murder was the work of powerful individuals in the corridors of power.
Then DP William Ruto hit back at Kinoti. Speaking at the burial of Kenei in his Chemasis village home in Nakuru County, Dr Ruto said the DCI had shifted focus to malign him and his office instead of pursuing the killers.
“I know there is a bigger scheme to destroy my office and ensure I do not go anywhere. The schemers are trying to threaten, undermine and demean my office in a bid to stop me. They may have the system but I have God,” an agitated Dr Ruto said.
Kenei’s murder remains unresolved.
Another high-profile murder that the DCI is yet to resolve is the controversial shooting of Bunty Shah, 32.
Bunty was shot through his bedroom’s window by a marksman in June 2020.
At the time, there were reports that he was shot dead during a police operation gone bad.
Masked policemen in an armoured vehicle, and three other four-wheel drive cars, stormed into Bunty’s home at the junction of Peponi and General Mathenge roads in Westland’s about 3am.
Security guards told journalists that the police had knocked at the gate before forcing their way through after injuring a guard.
Inside the compound the armed men smashed a door to one of the servant’s quarters and security lights.
Bunty, who was a licensed gun holder, is said to have fired twice in response.
An officer fired a single shot that hit Bunty in the chest, killing him. Then Gigiri police boss Vitalis Otieno denied that the police were involved in the shooting.
To date, this murder is yet to be resolved.
The controversial murder of Msando and Ms Carol Ngumbu has remained a mystery seven years later.
Msando was murdered on July 28, 2017—nine days before the hotly contested August 8 elections.
At the time, there was speculation that the State had a hand in the killing of the man responsible for, among other things, crucial details about the polls.
These details included electoral data, voter identification and verification, results transmission and electronic tallying process.
At the time of Msando’s killing, Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinett, now an advisor to President Ruto, promised that the perpetrators would soon be brought to book.
Former DCI boss Ndegwa Muhoro had asked the Director of Public prosecution to order for a public inquest since the DCI had not found any evidence on who killed Msando and Ngumbu.
Police have dropped charges against two men and a minor who were under investigation for the murder.
The DCI is also yet to unravel the murder of Musyoka, another IEBC employee whose body was found in a thicket in Mariko near Amboseli National Park.
Musyoka had been reported missing on August 11 from the East African School of Aviation tallying centre in Embakasi.
At the time, there were fears that he may have been kidnapped by parties that were not happy with the way he handled the election results in Embakasi.
Another murder mystery that the DCI is yet to crack is the disappearance of sharp shooter Mwitiki, who went missing on March 11, 2020.
Mwitiki, who managed a tours company in Nairobi, was reported missing at Kilimani Police Station.
His black Land Rover Discovery was found abandoned at an estate in Juja.
At the time, Juja police chief Dorothy Migarusha said the public informed the police of the vehicle, which had been abandoned with its doors wide open.
The police chief said the owner of the vehicle is yet to be traced.
Friends of the missing man, with the help of sniffer dogs, unsuccessfully combed areas around where vehicle was found.
