Court told of missing gun in Rashid's trial

A police officer who was in charge of the Pangani Police Station armory from May 8, 2017, told the court on Wednesday that he surrendered three of the four firearms demanded by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

Corporal Peter Mwangangi, now attached to the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation Police Post, testified before High Court Judge Diana Kavedza that he handed over to the DCI a Jericho pistol with serial number 45303194, (with an empty magazine), another Jericho pistol with serial number 45303302, and an AK-47 rifle labelled 35457.

Mwangangi was testifying in the trial of former Pangani police officer Ahmed Rashid, who is accused of killing Jamal Mohammed and Mohammed Dhair Kheri on March 31 of the same year.

Mwangangi told the court that the fourth firearm, a Jericho pistol with serial number 45303266, was not in his custody.

“Unless I check the handing-over notes, I cannot confirm where it was,” he said. He explained that, according to the armory records, the missing gun had been issued to Rashid’s colleague, Robert Rono.When pressed by Rashid’s lawyer, Danstun Omari, to confirm the claim, Mwangangi admitted that the arms movement register was unclear.

For the three firearms he surrendered to the DCI, he said the first Jericho pistol was with Rashid, the AK-47 rifle was with Winfred Omboga, and the second Jericho pistol was with John Mutonyi.

Mwangangi stressed that no officer can be issued with two guns, noting that Rashid returned his firearm the same day, while Rono’s was returned the following day.

“The gun that was issued to Rono, was it returned?” asked Omari. He replied: “It was returned on April 1, 2017, after having been issued on March 31st. He told the court that there was no signature indicating the armorer had received a Ceska pistol from any police officer.

On Tuesday, Commissioner of Police Collins Ndhiwa, a firearm examiner attached to the DCI, testified that seven out of 10 cartridges handed to him for forensic analysis were fired from a Ceska pistol.

Ndhiwa further explained that, depending on deployment, an officer may keep a weapon for up to a week.

The witness added that the firearms he later submitted to the DCI for analysis had initially been under the custody of another officer, Allan Kebacho.

Separately, a Safaricom employee told the court that call records showed Chief Inspector Mike Lekalaile was not at Eastleigh’s First Avenue, Fourth Street, at the time the two men were killed.
Daniel Khamisi, however, told the court that the telco’s data only captured moments when Lekalaile’s phone was active through either calls or text messages.

Lekalaile is central to the case, as he is alleged to have linked his friend to Rashid following a reported robbery on May 30, 2017.

In his testimony, Lekalaile said that on March 30, Prof Abdirashid Mahomud informed him about boys suspected of stealing from members of the public. He said he referred the professor to Rashid.

According to him, on March 31, the same professor, who is his friend, allegedly called again after spotting the suspects and once more asked him to contact Rashid.

Lekalaile testified that he later saw a video circulating about the incident and called the professor, who told him he had informed Rashid and left the scene.

The officer further claimed that two of his colleagues, who testified earlier on Monday, lied to the court by alleging that he was present at the crime scene.

Government pathologist Dr Peter Ndegwa is expected to testify today, alongside three other witnesses, including another armorer.