How we linked lawyer Kimani murder suspects to scene, court told

Lead investigator in the Willie Kimani (pictured) murder case yesterday told court how he relied on forensic analysis to link the five accused persons to the gruesome killings.

Among other clues that led to the arrest of Fredrick Leliman, Stephen Cheburet, Silvia Wanjiku, Leonard Mwangi and Peter Ngugi was the discovery of cigarette butts and empty water bottles at the crime scene in Mlolongo.

Another major clue was the discovery of a note in tissue paper that was written by Kimani while at Syokimau AP camp, and an empty Occurrence Book that now implicates Cheburet and Wanjiku.

The two officers, the court heard, manned the booking office on the day Kimani, his client Josephat Mwenda and taxi driver Joseph Muiruri were abducted and held at the station.

“During questioning, the two denied that the three were held at the AP camp with an intention to conceal the truth,” chief inspector Robert Owino told the court.

He told Justice Jessie Lessit that he questioned Cheburet who vehemently denied ever seeing the three.

Leliman, on the other hand, was arrested after his police pocket radio phone gave investigators clues of his movement on the night of the killings.

Owino told court that on the night the three were kidnapped, he received a team from International Justice Mission (IJM) who reported the mysterious disappearance of their colleague, Kimani, his client and a taxi driver.

“The team told me they had verified information that the three could have been abducted by people believed to be police officers,” said Owino.

The hearing will proceed today.