CCTV footage reveals how Kilifi deputy governor Kamto was shot dead
From Left: Julius Gitonga M’Muguu, Joseph Amwayi Mukabana and Florence Mwanza Mbithe before Mombasa Senior Principal Magistrate Henry Nyakweba. Mr Gitonga and Mr Amwayi are co-accused alongside Mr Muasya Kiteme of fatally shooting former Kilifi Deputy Governor Kenneth Kamto on December 12, 2018.
CCTV footage retrieved from cameras at Kilifi Deputy Governor Kenneth Kamto's home shows three gangsters storming his homestead before shooting him dead.
The footage, played in a Shanzu court on Thursday, showed that the unknown assailants waylaid Kamto and jumped over the fence as soon as he drove past the gate.
Kamto opened and closed the gate. Minutes later, the three armed men ran into his Nyali residence at 2am before leaving minutes later.
A woman also left the gate and headed in the direction the attackers had taken.
"From our assessment of the images, the three attackers had luggage in their hands. One of them walked towards the gate and threw something,” forensic, imaging and acoustic analyst Beneutychus Wanjohi told the court.
Kamto was killed on December 12, 2018 when the gunmen stormed his compound.
Following his shooting, Mr Muasya Kiteme (alias Mwaa), Mr Julius Gitonga, Mr Joseph Amwayi Mukabana, Ms Florence Mwanza, Mr Joseph Shoi Chege and Ms Clementina Nerima were arrested and charged with separate offences related to the killing.
They face charges of robbery with violence and being in possession of stolen items.
Mr Kiteme was charged alongside Mr Gitonga and Mr Mukabana. They are accused of fatally shooting Kamto and robbing him of three mobile phones valued at Sh28,000.
Ms Mwanza is charged together with Mr Gitonga that on January 6, 2019, in Kwa Bolu, Kisauni, dishonestly kept the three mobile phones belonging to Kamto and his wife Fawzia Dear Omar knowing or having reason to believe they were stolen property.
Mr Gitonga and Mr Amwayi are also accused of robbing Chinese national Adnan Chi Tung of goods worth Sh3 million at Nyali Plaza estate.
They are also accused of robbing Ms Omar and Uchi Zuma Mkaha of mobile phones worth Sh10,000 and Sh2,000 at the victims' houses on Nyali Beach Road on December 12. Mr Chege and Ms Nerima were found with a stolen mobile phone belonging to Mkaha.
Mr Gitonga and Ms Mwanza are also accused of being in possession of a pistol loaded with 18 rounds of ammunition on January 6 at Kwa Bulo estate without a valid firearm certificate.
Court records show that Mr Gitonga and Mr Amwayi were previously handed life sentences over similar offences. They had secured their freedom after successfully appealing at the High Court.
On Thursday, Mr Wanjohi, based at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters in Nairobi, showed the court how the attackers entered Kamto’s homestead.
He was involved in retrieving and reviewing CCTV footage from cameras located outside and inside Kamto's house.
The footage that captured the attackers was retrieved from the gate of Kamto’s neighbour.
The clips show that Kamto left his home at 10pm and returned at 2am, when he met his death as soon as he entered his homestead.
State counsel Ngina Mutua led the witness as he showed the court the events before and after the shooting of Kamto.
The officer told Shanzu Principal Magistrate Yussuf Shikanda that he had prepared 26 photographs and two compact discs (CD) from the CCTV footage.
“I have prepared two reports from the footage. The photographs also include those taken from the deceased compound after we did a search," he said.
The CCTV footage corroborates a confession from Mr Kiteme, who had reached a plea bargain agreement with the state in exchange for a lesser sentence.
In his confession, he told the court how the attack was planned and executed.
Mr Kiteme said a raid was planned on December 10, 2018 and executed two days later. He told the court how he met Mr Gitonga and another person to plan how to raid the home.
He claimed the mission aborted on the first day before it was successfully executed the following day.
When they linked up at nightfall to target a home near Kamto’s homestead, they had a motorbike that he, Mr Gitonga and another suspect used.
"We spent some time around the house until 1am. A few minutes later, we jumped over the fence into the compound,” he said.
“I realised that Gitonga had a pistol. He overpowered the guard and tied his hands with a sisal rope, but we did not succeed because of the security alarms."
But as they were leaving, they spotted Kamto parking his car. His home was not far from their first target, so they scaled the wall and took positions in his compound. He was on a call as he left his vehicle.
Court records show Kamto spent about 10 minutes on the phone outside his home. As he walked into his house through the back door, the attackers confronted him.
"We attacked him and ransacked the house. At this time, he had already been shot," Mr Kiteme said.
After the incident, he fled to Mwingi, Kitui County, but was arrested three months later. He is now serving a 15-year jail term and is a state witness in the case.
Court documents filed by Mr Wanjohi, the investigator in the case, show that the gun seized from the suspects was used in the murder and had been stolen from a Chinese national.
The hearing continues on November 9 and 10.
