A senior police officer has testified at Milimani High Court, claiming that the Kianjokoma brothers died after allegedly jumping from a moving police vehicle while trying to escape custody.

Chief Inspector Peter Terer, who served as Deputy Officer Commanding Station (OCS) at Manyatta Police Station in Embu County, presented the account before Justice Margaret Muigai. He told the court that the brothers had reportedly planned their escape and leapt from the speeding vehicle one after the other.

Officer recounts alleged escape attempt

“The two brothers told each other, ‘tujiokoe’ (let us save ourselves). They jumped out one after the other and crushed their heads on the road,” Terer told the court.

The officer said he received this version of events from two surviving suspects who were seated next to the deceased during the journey on August 2, 2021.

Brothers arrested during Covid-19 curfew enforcement

Terer explained that Benson Njiru and Emmanuel Mutura were arrested alongside eight other suspects for violating Covid-19 curfew regulations. The other detainees included Jackson Kariuki, Justine Muturi, Marcus Muchiri, Christopher Njye, Kennedy Mukami, Simon Muchangi, Patrick Rutere, and Moses Nganga.

The testimony provides a controversial account of the brothers’ deaths, which sparked nationwide outrage and raised serious questions about police conduct and accountability during curfew enforcement in 2021.

The officer said the remaining suspects were held at Manyatta Police Station before facing charges at the Embu Law Courts.

Midnight alert triggers crime scene response

Terer testified that Corporal Benson Mbuthia, the duty officer that night, alerted him to the brothers’ deaths at around 12:45 am.

“Upon receiving the information, I instructed Corporal Mbuthia to preserve the scene until the OCS, Mr Abdalla, arrived,” he said, adding that he immediately informed the OCS and DCIO before proceeding to the scene.

Six officers found at the scene, all arrested

At the site, Terer said officers found Corporal Mbuthia and five other officers: Consolata Kariuki, Nicholas Cheruyiot, Martin Wanyama, Lilian Chemuna, and James Mwaniki.

“I observed two bodies lying on the left side of the tarmac road in a pool of blood,” he testified.

Terer, now stationed at Ngutani Police Station in Kitui County, said all six officers at the scene were immediately arrested and placed in custody as suspects.

The officer added that he later interrogated the two surviving suspects who had been seated next to the deceased to gather more details.

The deaths triggered protests and violence in the area, with angry residents setting the government vehicle ablaze. The vehicle, registration GKB 277T, had been transporting the suspects.

Officer admits he did not witness incident

Under cross-examination by defense lawyers Stanley Kinyanjui, Martina Suiga, and Danstan Omari, Terer admitted he did not witness the incident and relied entirely on information from the surviving suspects. He also noted that heavy rainfall that night made it difficult for officers to notice the alleged jump.

“As the officer in charge of the station, I had signed the original work ticket, which was later burned inside the GK vehicle,” he added.

OCS Abdalla also testified, saying he went to the scene and saw the bodies but did not examine them closely due to trauma. He confirmed that Corporal Mbuthia had been the duty officer on that night.

The six officers deny murdering the Kianjokoma brothers and remain out on bond as the case proceeds. They were arrested on August 17, 2021, over the alleged killings.

The court continues to examine competing accounts of how Benson Njiru and Emmanuel Mutura died while in police custody during what was meant to be a routine curfew enforcement operation.