Forensic report and CCTV footage over Mercy Keino's death not ready, court told
CID officer Edward Kiptum during the inquest into the death of Mercy Keino in 2014. PHOTO | PAUL WAWERU
What you need to know:
- Prosecutor Moses O'mirera asked for an adjournment of the proceedings before a Milimani criminal court, saying the exhibits "are not ready" and asked for a month to make them available.
- So far, 43 witnesses out of an expected 65 have testified in the inquest, which was formed to probe the circumstances that led to the death of the fourth-year university student.
- Ms Keino met her death four years ago and is believed to have been murdered elsewhere before her body was dumped on Waiyaki Way to give an impression of an accident.
A forensic report and CCTV footage expected to unravel the circumstances under which university student Mercy Keino died after a house party in a Nairobi suburb are not ready, a court heard on Tuesday.
The court was told that the crucial evidence, which the prosecution hoped to produce in court to nail the University of Nairobi student’s suspected killers, were taken to the CID headquarters for analysis.
On Tuesday, prosecutor Moses O'mirera asked for an adjournment of the proceedings before a Milimani criminal court, saying the exhibits "are not ready" and asked for a month to make them available.
So far, 43 witnesses out of an expected 65 have testified in the inquest, which was formed to investigate the circumstances that led to the death of the fourth-year university student.
Lawyers representing personalities adversely mentioned in the case, including Kiambu Governor William Kabogo, then Juja MP, protested at the delay of the production of the forensic report in court.
They said since 2012, the prosecution has never furnished them with copies of the crucial document to help them prepare adequately for the proceedings.
CONTESTED CCTV FOOTAGE
The proceedings had hit a snag after police produced a contested CCTV footage in court, in which a woman appeared to kick away at two men who managed to subdue and drag her into an upper staircase room.
However, it was not clear whether the woman in the footage was Mercy or other colleagues who were attending a house party at Wasini apartments in Westlands, Nairobi.
The then trial magistrate Peter Ndwiga adjourned the proceedings, after the prosecutor said the CCTV footage produced in court might not be the real exhibit as it was disjointed. He wanted the investigators to clarify the inconsistencies in the footage.
Ms Keino met her death four years ago and is believed to have been murdered elsewhere before her body was dumped on Waiyaki Way to give the impression that she died in an accident.
A police officer who was the first to arrive at the scene and is among the witnesses who have testified told the court that when he got to where the woman's body was, "it gave an impression that a fatal accident had occurred but on further investigation the findings spoke a different story".
He said several things did not add up, concluding that there was foul play.
FILE REALLOCATED
On Tuesday, the case file was reallocated to a new magistrate following the transfer of Mr Ndwiga.
The proceedings are set to resume on July 6.
Meanwhile, a mention date was set for June 15 to confirm whether the report and CCTV images are ready and copies handed to the defence team.
