A police officer in charge of the Central Police Station armory testified during the Rex Masai murder inquest, denying claims of a cover-up in the firearms register.
Fredrick Okapesi, a senior police officer, insisted that the inconsistencies in the records did not amount to concealing the truth.
However, Okapesi admitted the register contained errors but explained that manually prepared documents are often vulnerable to errors. He noted that when such mistakes occur in good faith, officers are allowed to correct them by striking through or applying a blackwash.
“There was no attempt to hide the truth,” Okapesi said. He also emphasized that no demonstrations took place on June 19, the day before Masai was fatally shot.
Okapesi maintained that, despite the discrepancies, the firearms register is a credible record and urged the court to rely on it in determining the case.
He further told the court that officers received firearms only through established procedures, rejecting claims that weapons may have been irregularly issued during the anti-government protests.
Okapesi, while responding to questions about firearm records, admitted to an oversight involving one Corporal Githinji. He explained that he initially believed he had erased Githinji’s signature but later discovered it still appeared in the register. Even so, he insisted he would never allow any officer to collect a firearm without signing for it.
Addressing Constable Isaiah Murangiri’s records, Okapesi testified that entries showed the officer received a firearm on June 20, 21, and 22.
He testified that no other officer had the authority to issue firearms at Central Police Station and clarified that his records did not show Murangiri being issued with a weapon on June 18, contrary to earlier claims.
The witness added that Murangiri had been issued with a launcher designed to fire rubber bullets and canisters, equipment used for crowd control.
“The arms register presented in court for that week is accurate,” he said. Okapesi further stressed that no live rounds were issued or used during the protests.
When shown a photo allegedly depicting Constable Murangiri holding a launcher, Okapesi said the image was unclear. However, he confirmed that the June 20 records showed Murangiri had been issued with a launcher.
“Yes, I’m the one who assigned it, that’s my signature,” he testified.
Okapesi further clarified that the protest operations were not handled solely by Central Police Station, noting that other sister stations also took part.
Murangiri is the main suspect in the murder of Rex Masai, who was shot dead in Nairobi’s CBD on June 20, 2024.
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