Happening Now: Trump takes the lead in US presidential race
DCI raids Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza’s home over Sniper murder
Eastern Region DCI Co-ordinator Lenny Kisaka (centre) briefs the media outside Governor Kawira Mwangaza's official residence where they collected evidence in the murder of blogger Daniel Muthiani aka Sniper on 6 January 2024. With him are DCI Homicide Director Martin Nyaguto (right) and Meru County Secretary Dr Kiambi Athiru.
What you need to know:
- Forensic and homicide detectives cordoned off the governor’s Milimani residence during the day-long probe.
- Ms Kawira earlier denied claims that the slain activist visited her home before he went missing.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers on Saturday raided the official residence of Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza in pursuit of evidence in the murder of political activist and blogger Daniel Muthiani aka Sniper.
Detectives from the homicide squad at DCI headquarters led by Mr Martin Nyaguto spent the entire day at the residence in Milimani Estate in Meru town, which was cordoned off.
Officers were seen going in and out of the residence, but the DCI did not reveal what kind of evidence they were collecting.
DCI Eastern Region coordinator Lenny Kisaka said the detectives were gathering evidence that would be relevant to the murder investigation, adding that there were several other places they would be visiting.
"We’re investigating the murder of a person popularly known as Sniper and we have been to different scenes. We have brought on board a forensic investigation team consisting of various fields of forensic science," Mr Kisaka told journalists outside the home.
"This is a continuous process of gathering whatever is relevant to the murder we are investigating.”
Meru County Secretary Kiambi Athiru was also present, with Mr Kisaka explaining that he was "brought on board to assist" the team of detectives in accessing the various crime scenes they would be visiting.
The raid came two days after detectives arrested the governor's brother, Mr Murangiri Kenneth Guantai, who is being held in Nairobi for questioning over the gruesome murder. The DCI has applied to detain him along with five other suspects for 21 days pending investigations.
In the application filed in Kiambu Magistrate's Court on Friday, the DCI wants Kenneth Mutua Matiri, Fredrick Muriuki Kiugu, Frankline Kimathi, Timothy Kinoti and Mr Guantai detained at Muthaiga Police Station for 21 days to enable the DCI complete investigations.
Mr Guantai is an officer attached to the governor’s security detail while Mr Matiri is a protocol officer in her office. In the application, the DCI alleges that the suspects lured Muthiani to his death by promising to arrange a meeting with Ms Mwangaza. The other suspect is Vincent Murithi Kirimi, who allegedly made the initial phone call to Muthiani. The application will be heard on Monday .
Muthiani, alias Sniper, mysteriously disappeared on December 2, 2023 and his body was found on December 16 in a thicket on the banks of the Mutonga River in Tharaka Nithi District.
In his social media posts, Muthiani recorded videos criticizing the governor and according to the DCI, the suspects had told Muthiani that the governor wanted them to work together.
On Friday, Ms Mwangaza broke her silence over the blogger's murder, saying detectives should be allowed to conclude investigations and establish the truth.
"I don't want to comment much on the killing of Sniper and we all want to know what happened. The matter is under investigation," she said in an interview with local media at her residence on Friday evening.
Asked whether Muthiani visited her residence as alleged, Ms Mwangaza said that was not true, adding that she was ready to use CCTV footage to prove that the blogger never visited her.
A post-mortem examination conducted by Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor at Marimanti Level Four Hospital mortuary on December 22 revealed that Muthiani had been tortured before being strangled.
Dr Benjamin Kanake, who attended the autopsy on behalf of the family, confessed that he could not come to terms with what he had seen.
The doctor, who is also a pathologist, said in his career of over 30 years, during which he has conducted numerous post-mortems, he had never witnessed such brutality. “There are no differences that should cause people to resort to such cruelty against their fellow human beings. There is never an absolute necessity to take the life of another human being.”
