Rex Masai inquest exposes Nairobi's crippled CCTV network

Prosecutor Jalson Makori cross-examines National Police Service witness Andrew Limo at the Milimani Law Courts in the Rex Masai inquest. [David Gichuru, Standard]

Inquiry into the killing of Rex Masai has unearthed fresh details about Nairobi’s crippled CCTV network, with about 20 per cent of cameras operational across the CBD.

For years, Nairobi has projected itself as a city under the watchful eye of extensive surveillance, with a sprawling network of security cameras expected to help police prevent crime, track suspects and reconstruct events after deadly incidents.

But stunning evidence tendered by a senior police officer from Jogoo House during the ongoing inquest into the killing of 29-year-old Masai before Milimani Law Courts exposed a disturbing reality that large parts of the capital’s central business district have effectively been operating in the dark.

At the time Masai was shot during the June 2024 Gen Z demonstrations, only about one-fifth of the CCTV cameras in Nairobi’s CBD were operational, leaving critical streets and junctions without functioning surveillance.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Andrews Kipchumba Limo, an Integrated Command, Control and Communication Centre (IC3) technical officer based at Jogoo House, told the inquest that most cameras had been offline for years.

“Most of the CCTV cameras in the entire Nairobi have been offline since 2019,” Limo told Milimani Chief Magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo.

He placed the number of operational cameras in the entire city at about 20 per cent.

“About 20 percent are working since 2019 to date,” he said.

The revelation is particularly significant because the cameras were supposed to provide an independent electronic record of events during the protests that swept Nairobi in June 2024.

Instead, when investigators went looking for footage that could help establish what happened on the day Masai was killed, there was little to show.

Limo told the inquest that police did not have footage of the June 2024 demonstrations despite the protests unfolding across the CBD and involving thousands of demonstrators and heavily deployed security officers.

“We do not have footage of the protests of June 2024, though the demonstrators were all over the CBD and police were all over the city,” he said.

The absence of footage was not because investigators failed to ask for it.

Limo disclosed that he received a letter dated July 3, 2024, from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations’ Central Police Station requesting CCTV footage of the demonstrations. He also received another request from IPOA.

But police could not provide the requested recordings because the relevant cameras were either not working or could not capture and store footage.

The witness attributed the failure partly to construction of the Nairobi Expressway, which he said resulted in the destruction of fibre-optic cables supporting the police CCTV network.

According to Limo, the cables had been laid along Uhuru Highway and their destruction significantly affected the surveillance system.

He said the problem had persisted for years, with the maintenance contract for the CCTV system having expired in 2019.

“The contract for the same ended in 2019 and there are no technicians to repair it,” Limo said.

Despite the completion of the Expressway construction, the court heard that the police CCTV network had not returned to full operation.

Limo said he did not know when the maintenance contract would be renewed, leaving the surveillance network operating at a fraction of its intended capacity.

Led in evidence by State prosecutor Jalson Makori, Limo said he was on duty at the IC3 Centre at the National Police Service headquarters, Jogoo House, on June 18, 19 and 20, 2024, when the country experienced widespread demonstrations over the Finance Bill 2024.

Limo told the court that several cameras in the CBD were not operational, including those around Commercial Bank, Kencom, near Heltol Hotel, Kimathi Street and Moi Avenue.

He specifically confirmed that an IC3 camera installed along Mama Ngina Street was also offline on June 20, 2024,the day Masai was shot during the Gen Z protests.

“Is there an IC3 camera along Mama Ngina?” Makori asked.

“Yes, there is a camera,” Limo replied.

Asked about its status on the material day, he said: “The camera was not working. It was offline.”

A few cameras, however, were working during the demonstrations, including those around Wiyoma Street and the OTC area.

Limo said that before the damage to the fibre network, about 80 per cent of the cameras had been operational, but their functionality subsequently dropped to approximately 20 per cent.

Asked whether it was unusual for only about a fifth of the cameras to be working, the officer said: “It is not unusual.”

He denied suggestions that the cameras were deliberately switched off or conveniently taken offline whenever demonstrations occurred in the city.

He said police had previously benefited from the CCTV system when a larger proportion of the cameras was operational.

He also told the court that police had resorted to other methods of tackling crime in Nairobi after the CCTV network's functionality dropped below 20 per cent.

Limo further said he did not attend any of the police briefings held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre by various police bosses ahead of the June 2024 Gen Z protests.

The inquest continues hearing on Thursday.