Witnesses in Willie Kimani's murder case placed under protection

The Directorate of Criminal Investigation boss Ndegwa Muhoro appeared in court Tuesday to give details on the progress of investigations into the murder of lawyer Willie Kimani and two others.

The DCI said key witnesses in the case have been placed under protection while others will be assessed “as they come up and be protected as necessary.”

“I will ensure that there is no interference from any quarter and I will ensure investigations are complete and suspects brought to court in 14 days,” the DCI said.

He said three suspects, linked to the murders, were arrested and detained. He added that a fourth suspect has also been arrested.

The four are Fredrick ole Leliman, Stephen Cheburet Morogo, Silvia Wanjiku Morogo and Leonard Maina.

Mr Muhoro told the court that his department has “taken seriously” the incident and assured Kenyans that they will conduct "very professional and in-depth investigations.”

“Initially we were dealing with a matter of abduction but upon the recovery of the bodies, I asked the homicide team to work with investigators already on the case,” Mr Muhoro told High Court Judge Luka Kimaru.

He said he requested the Director of Public Prosecution to assign four lawyers to assist his officers in the investigations.

The DCI boss said he has appointed Mr Said Mohammed, head of Flying Squad and Mr John Kariuki from the serious crimes unit to lead the investigations.

The bodies of Mr Kimani - a lawyer employed by a human rights group - his client Josphat Mwenda and taxi driver, Joseph Muiruri, were found stuffed in gunny bags in a river in Machakos on Friday.