A renewed push to unravel the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting of protester Rex Kanyike Masai has led the Milimani Law Courts to again order former Nairobi Area Sub-County Police Commander Doris Mugambi to appear and give her account.
The direction came on Thursday after the prosecution insisted her evidence is still needed to explain police movements and orders during the June 2024 demonstrations where the 29-year-old lost his life.
State counsel Jalson Makori urged the court to enforce the summons, arguing that Mugambi holds information central to understanding how officers operated in the city on the day of the shooting.
This becomes the third time she has been required to appear before the inquiry, signalling the weight placed on her testimony by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Principal Magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo also compelled several other witnesses to return, among them a representative from Bliss Hospital, Laurence Machira, and an individual from International Life House, the location where investigators found a bullet fragment believed to be from the fatal shot.
The directive will also see three officials from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority and a journalist previously heard in the matter recalled for additional questioning.
Court proceedings began on a tense note as legal teams from the ODPP, the National Police Service and IPOA exchanged accusations. The prosecution faulted the police and the oversight authority for allegedly withholding crucial details and attempting to shield aspects of the incident from scrutiny.
The inquest had been expected to conclude this week, with testimony from Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor and the lead investigator lined up as part of the final three witnesses.
However, the ODPP informed the court that up to ten more individuals will now be called, extending the process and pushing back the expected conclusion date.
Earlier, the prosecution had attempted to have Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat summoned to explain police deployment during the protests.
That application was eventually withdrawn after the DPP announced that adequate information had already been submitted by other police representatives.
Magistrate Onsarigo stressed that all recalled witnesses must be located and produced before the bench, and scheduled a virtual mention on November 11, 2025, to confirm compliance and set further hearing dates.
Rex was shot in the upper thigh along Moi Avenue while police dispersed crowds protesting tax proposals. He was taken to Bliss Hospital but could not be saved.
A medic who attended to him told the court, "He had sustained a single gunshot wound to the upper thigh and appeared to have bled excessively before reaching the facility."
The inquest was ordered to determine whether any officer or individual should face criminal charges over the shooting, a case that has continued to draw public interest and calls for justice and police accountability.
