The hearing into the death of Rex Masai, who was fatally shot during the anti-government protests in June 2024, has been adjourned to July 29, 2025. The proceedings, presided over by Principal Magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo, were paused following testimony from Corporal Martin Githinji, a police officer attached to the Central Police Station’s undercover intelligence unit.
Githinji, testifying as a key witness, denied any use of firearms during the protests, asserting that neither he nor his team discharged their weapons at any point during deployment. According to his testimony, he was deployed to River Road on June 19, 2024, after being issued a Jericho pistol with 15 rounds of ammunition. He maintained that he returned the firearm with all ammunition intact by 6:00 pm that same day.
He underscored that all officers are required to personally sign for issued firearms, and protocol does not allow for signing on behalf of others. However, the court raised questions regarding the firearm issuance register, where Githinji’s name appeared twice once at the bottom of one page and again at the top of the next. Githinji attributed the anomaly to a clerical error by the armoury officer, which he said had been noticed and an attempt made to correct.
Adding to the inconsistencies, Githinji distanced himself from a prior statement given to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), where he had said he was armed on June 18. On the stand, he claimed to have been on a non-combat assignment that day and blamed memory lapses for the conflicting account.
He also testified that no protests occurred on June 18 or 19, and he only learned about the June 20 unrest during which Rex Masai was fatally shot via social media and television.
Githinji confirmed that officer Simon Waweru, also linked to the firearm issuance logs, was under his command. He claimed he personally witnessed the correction of an erroneous entry made under Waweru’s name in the register.
The case continues to draw national attention amid calls for accountability in Masai’s death.
