Four years ago, three gangsters stormed the Nyali home of then Kilifi deputy Governor Kenneth Kamto and shot him dead.
The incident left a family torn apart and created political tensions in Coast as the natural assumption was that it was an assassination.
Detectives moved fast and arrested suspects linked to the incident as family and friends patiently waited for justice.
One of the suspects, Muasya Kiteme alias Mwaa, has now given an account of what transpired before and after Kamto’s killing on December 12, 2018.
Now a prosecution witness, Kiteme says the raid was planned on December 10, 2018 and executed a couple of days later.
“On December 10, I got a call from Waingo, a friend, at 10am for a meeting at Sosiani area in Kongowea, Mombasa. He came with another friend called Julius Gitonga M’ Muguu. After the introductions, Gitonga said there was a job that needed my input later in the evening,” he recalled.
“It was about a burglary. We planned how to break into a home in Nyali. After going through the details, we agreed to meet at 7pm. Waingo and I left to his residence to wait for nightfall. When we linked up, Gitonga had two metal bars. But there was a problem. We called it off and planned for another day.”
The following day, the trio linked up. Waingo hired a motorbike, which Kiteme, Gitonga and another suspect used. The four converged on the same Nyali area, with a new target.
“We spent some time around the home until 1am. A few minutes later, we jumped over the fence into the compound. 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,” offered Kiteme.
“As we were leaving, we saw Kamto parking his car. His home was not far from our first target. We scaled the wall and took positions in his compound. He was on a call as he left his vehicle.”
Court records show the former deputy governor spent about 10 minutes on phone outside his home. As he walked to the house through the back door, he noticed the unwanted guests and a confrontation ensued.
“We attacked him and ransacked the house. At this time, he had already been shot,” stated Kiteme.
After the incident, he fled to Mwingi but was arrested three months later. Kiteme is now serving a 15-year jail term after a plea bargain with the state. He agreed to become a state witness in exchange for a lesser sentence.
“A person lost his life during the incident. No amount of punishment can bring back the life of the deceased. I appreciate the fact that the accused person entered into a plea agreement with the prosecution,” Shanzu Senior Principal Magistrate Yussuf Shikanda said.
“Having considered all the relevant factors and noting that the accused did not play an active role in causing the death of the deceased, I hereby sentence him to 15 years imprisonment,” said the magistrate.
They were accused of fatally shooting the former deputy governor and robbing him of three mobile phones valued at Sh28, 000.
Another suspect, Florence Mwanza, is charged together with Gitonga that on January 6, 2019, at Kwa Bolu area in Kisauni, otherwise in the cause of stealing, dishonestly undertook the retention of the three mobile phones belonging to Kamto and his wife Fawzia Dear Omar, knowing or having reason to believe them to be stolen property.
Gitonga and Amwayi are also accused of robbing a Chinese national, Adnan Chi Tung, goods worth Sh3million at Nyali Plaza Estate, two years ago. They are also accused of robbing Ms Omar and Uchi Zuma Mkaha mobile phones worth Sh10,000 and Sh2,000 at the victims’ houses along Nyali Beach Road on December 12.
Other suspects are Joseph Shoi Chege and Clementina Nerima Mundera, who were found with a stolen mobile phone belonging to Zuma.
Gitonga and Ms Mwanza are further accused of being in possession of a pistol loaded with 18 rounds of ammunitions on January 6 at Kwa Bulo Estate, without a valid firearm certificate.
Court records show that Gitonga and Amwayi had previously been handed life sentences over a similar offence. They, however, secured their freedom following their successful appeal at the High Court.
Documents filed by investigating officer Raphael Wanjohi show that the gun recovered from the suspects was used in the murder. The report further indicates that the gun had been stolen from a Chinese national.
“It was a shooting incident and ballistic report prepared shows that it is the same gun recovered from the three. The suspects are violent robbers and if released on bond, there is a very high possibility that they can intimidate and try to eliminate witnesses,” states an affidavit filed to oppose the bond.
Ms Omar said she had arrived home at 11pm that night after attending a year-end party at her place of work. “I sat on the sofa waiting for him to come, then switched on the T and fell asleep,” she said, adding that her husband had changed the gate locks a week before the incident.
There was no guard as he had left to take care of his ailing mother. Ms Omar told the court that she was woken up by her husband, who kept shouting that thieves had entered the compound.
“As I was running out, I saw someone on the door who said what I cannot remember then I heard gunshots. I ran towards the kitchen,” she said
They took cover inside a room close to the kitchen but the assailants followed them and demanded that they switch on the lights.
“They ordered me to follow them to the living room, where I found my husband lying on his belly on the corridor leading to the kitchen,” she recalled.
She said the assailants demanded money but because she did not have any cash with her, she ordered her maid to give the attackers the money.
“One of the assailants hit me with a slasher. They took us around the house looking for money and then left the compound,” she said, adding that the attacker threatened to kill her if she did not give them money.
In 2017, three thugs had broken into their home in the early hours of the morning and made away with a handbag, mobile phones and car keys. Kamto was away in Nairobi.
