A Nairobi court has ordered the continued detention of two police constables accused of fatally shooting a street mask vendor during the June 17 anti-finance bill protests in the city centre.
Constables Klinzy Masinde Barasa (Kayole Police Station) and Duncan Kiprono (Kileleshwa Police Station) will now remain in custody at Capitol Hill Police Station until July 10, 2025, as investigations into the killing of Boniface Kariuki Mwangi continue.
Milimani Principal Magistrate Benmark Ekhubi granted the extension following an application by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who cited ongoing investigations by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA). "We have had discussion with the defence lawyers and we are agreeable to have the two officers be held for seven more days instead of 14 days requested earlier," State Counsel Victor Owiti told the court.
Owiti further indicated that although IPOA had initially sought to extract DNA samples from the suspects to assist in forensic analysis, that request had been dropped. "We have withdrawn the prayer to compel the officers to give DNA samples," he added, emphasizing that IPOA still required time to finalize postmortem reports, ballistic testing, surveillance review, and key witness interviews.
