Kenei murder probe: Kinoti says crime scene was staged

Fresh details have emerged in the investigation into what Kenya’s top detective George Kinoti has termed the “cold-blooded murder” of Deputy President William Ruto’s guard Kipyegon Kenei.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Thursday gave a blow-by-blow account of what transpired during Kenei’s last moments at the Harambee House Annex, Mr Ruto’s office.

The details revolved around the secret meeting that former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa and his guests held at the DP’s office in a fake Sh40 billion military equipment deal.

The detectives also gave a timeline of events that led to the silencing of the man whose statement was key to the probe that involved American firm, Eco Advanced Technologies, LLC.

Here are some of the details that Mr Kinoti and his team at the DCI headquarters revealed:

• Mr Echesa and his guests spent one hour, 22 minutes and 59 seconds at Harambee House Annex.

  In a Twitter post on February 20, DP Ruto said they were there for 23 minutes only and demanded that investigators look into the “months” the alleged scammers spent plotting the deal.

  He asked Mr Kinoti and his team to name the other government officers whom Mr Echesa, the fake general, and his team visited.

• Sergeant Kenei was murdered in his house at Imara Daima estate but the killers tampered with the scene to make it appear that he committed suicide.

  Kenei was found dead on February 20.

  A post mortem revealed that he died a day or two before his body was found and that the cause of death was a gunshot to the head.

• The manner in which Kenei’s body lay on the floor of his table room was inconsistent with suicide.

  Mr Kinoti said Kenei was found without shoes and in his pyjamas, but that his bed was neat, a circumstance he said was unusual.

• The murder was planned for a long time.

• Kenei was killed while planning to record a statement on the fake arms deal.

  The DCI boss said he had contacted a close friend seeking advise on how to record a statement.

• CCTV footage released by Harambee Annex staff was edited to conceal Kenei’s role in the fake arms deal.