Police deny role in Rogo killing

The police have distanced themselves from last week’s killing of Islamic preacher Sheikh Aboud Rogo, saying, the bullets used to commit the murder were not from the force.

Kisauni CID boss Benedict Kigen told the team investigating the shooting of Sheikh Rogo that the cartridges found at the scene were black, different from what the police issues to its officers.

Policemen use copper bullets, which are different from ammunitions whose catridges were found at the scene, he said.

“Police arrived at the scene five minutes after the incident and we managed to collect 16 cartridges, which were black.

"We have launched investigations to determine where these bullets originated from since such ammunitions are not manufactured in Kenya,” Mr Kigen said.

Sheikh Rogo was killed in a hail of bullets fired by gunmen in Bamburi area last week as he drove his wife to hospital.

His wife and father-in-law, who was with them in the car, were injured, but their daughter escaped unhurt.

The killing triggered deadly riots in Mombasa, which resulted in the death of three prison warders. (READ: Man charged with murder of three officers in Mombasa)

Some 14 warders and four policemen were injured in two separate grenade attacks targeting the officers, who protesters alleged were behind Mr Rogo’s fatal shooting.

While addressing the 11-member investigative team on Tuesday at the scene of the preacher’s killing, Mr Kigen said they encountered resistance in pursuing leads following the shooting because witnesses refused to record statements.

“We alerted traffic police along Mombasa-Malindi highway to stop any unregistered vehicle which was used by the criminals to kill Sheikh Rogo but in vain.

"We could have intercepted the vehicle if the family members had cooperated in giving us more details about the vehicle immediately after the incident,” Mr Kigen said.

Bamburi Police Station boss Erastus Gitari, who was also question by the team, said the rowdy youths, who visited the scene shortly after the shooting, prevented the police from collecting further evidence there.

“The youths chased away the police, who wanted to take pictures of the scene and they took away the body. Sheikh Rogo’s wife also refused to talk to us and accused the police of killing her husband,” he said.  

The team headed by assistant deputy director of public prosecutions Jacob Ondari, while being shown the bullet-ridden van that was being used by Sheikh Rogo, heard that the preacher was shot at close range. The team visited Bamburi Police Station where the vehicle is kept.

At the Presbyterian Church of East Africa in Kisauni — one of the churches vandalised during the riots, the investigators said they would study what the church management recorded with the police to see if there was any link with the shooting.

Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko dropped a senior state counsel from the investigation team following a petition by Muslims for Human Rights (Muhuri).