A Nairobi court has been told that crucial digital and CCTV evidence linked to the fatal shooting of Rex Masai is genuine, with footage capturing a man discharging a firearm during protests in the city centre on June 20, 2024.
The revelations came on Wednesday during an ongoing inquest before Senior Principal Magistrate Geoffrey Onsaringo, where Independent Policing Oversight Authority forensic expert Joshua Mutua took the stand as a prosecution witness.
While being led in his testimony by State Counsel, Mutua said he is a certified crime investigator with over a decade of experience and was part of the team that examined the circumstances surrounding the shooting along Mama Ngina Street.
He explained that on July 14, 2025, he was formally tasked by investigating officer Justin Getete to analyse digital materials connected to the case. The request was accompanied by a 16GB flash disk containing a collection of photos and video clips that required examination and certification.
“The request was to print and certify the photos, ascertain whether the video recordings were authentic, make a report under certificate and produce the contents before this court,” he said.
Mutua told the court that the storage device contained 36 images and two video recordings. He noted that the photographs were taken on June 18 and June 20, 2024, with half of them containing metadata, while the rest were unprocessed images.
The court was shown the photographs as exhibits, with the witness describing what they depicted. He said some of the images captured a group of people in a procession, including a man described as of brown complexion, dressed in a black cap, blue shirt, grey trousers and black sports shoes, holding what appeared to be a police communication device.
Additional photographs showed the same individual among people boarding a police lorry, and later carrying equipment under his arm.
Other images taken on June 20 provided a closer look at officers and another man wearing a black cap marked with the word “Bell.” He was seen in a black shirt, blue jeans and white sports shoes, wearing what appeared to be a Kenyan flag bracelet and holding both a communication gadget and a riot baton.
The court also heard that both videos were subjected to forensic review to determine their integrity. The first clip, recorded on June 18 and lasting just over 13 minutes, showed the same man holding a blue mobile phone and what appeared to be a communication radio while near a police lorry before heading towards a police Land Cruiser.
The second video, recorded on June 20, showed several people clearing stones from a road. Among them was a man in a black cap, black shirt, blue jeans and white sports shoes, also holding a communication gadget and a riot baton.
“After examination of the photos and videos, I formed the opinion that the same man appears in all the photos and videos,” Mutua testified.
Further, the court was told that IPOA obtained CCTV footage from Absa Bank located along Mama Ngina Street to establish what transpired during the protests. The footage, covering the period between 7pm and 7.17pm, was stored in a blank 32GB SanDisk device before analysis.
Mutua said the CCTV recording was examined using forensic video tools and confirmed to be authentic. When played in court, it showed people walking along the street before a man suddenly charged towards them. Moments later, gunfire was heard at about 7.11pm, causing the crowd to scatter.
“The footage has in no way been modified, altered or interfered with,” Mutua said, adding that all the evidence remained securely stored under lock and key until the analysis was completed.
The inquest is set to continue.
