On October 17, 2017, Jackson Mwangi left his home in Likoni at 7 pm to collect his employer’s matatu from a garage in King’orani, Mombasa. He never returned.
Thirteen days later, his body was found at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary with a gunshot wound through the left eye.
His wife, Monica Kioko, later learnt that an AP officer, Stephen Omondi, had shot her husband, who was travelling in a matatu that sped off after defying police orders to stop at Makande roadblock, where officers were inspecting vehicles that night.
Ms Kioko told the court about the pain of searching for her husband, who had left home alive and jovial. She said she tried calling him three hours after he left, but his phone was unreachable.
For 10 agonising days, she visited several police stations in search of him. On October 19, she made a missing person report at Likoni Police Station.
She was referred to Makupa and Central stations, where she was told no accident involving him had been reported. She returned to Likoni Police Station on October 29, where officers threatened to lock her up for being “a nuisance.” “I pleaded with the OCS to let me continue searching,” she recalled tearfully.
The next day, guided by mortuary staff, she identified her husband’s body — cold, with a gunshot wound through the left eye and a blood-stained vest.
The details of Mwangi’s death were pieced together through the testimonies of officers who manned the roadblock that night. Inspector Paul Chai was on duty with six officers, including Omondi, to inspect vehicles that night.
Around 10 pm, a matatu approached from town. When flagged down, the driver argued with Omondi before Chai intervened and demanded his licence. The driver said it was with his employer. When Omondi noted the vehicle lacked insurance, Chai ordered the driver and conductor to step out. Instead, the driver accelerated, nearly knocking Chai down.
“The driver grabbed the steering wheel and sped off, dragging me briefly before I fell,” Chai said.
Administration Police Officer Stephen Omondi who shot a matatu passenger at Makande Road block when he appeared before the High Court in Mombasa on October 22, 2025.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
He later learnt Omondi had fired one shot from his G3 rifle, killing a passenger instantly. Chai admitted the officers should have recorded the number plate and followed up later rather than pursue the vehicle.
Prison warder Rodgers Ekesa confirmed being at the roadblock with two colleagues. He said they were ordered to pursue the vehicle after it nearly knocked down Chai.
“Chai ordered us to pursue it. We got a lift from a private motorist, and near the Changamwe Flyover, Omondi ordered the driver to stop. When he ignored it, Omondi cocked his rifle and fired one shot,” he said.
The matatu stopped shortly after, and they found a passenger bleeding from the head as others fled. Another prison officer, Peter Mutuku, corroborated the account.
He said Omondi’s decision to fire at a moving PSV was risky, but he believed he acted impulsively to protect colleagues. The evidence showed Mwangi was seated in the front passenger seat next to the driver.
Dr Abdul Aziz Mohamed, who conducted the post-mortem, said Mwangi had a crushed head with loss of brain matter.
“The bullet entered through the left side of the nose and exited through the forehead. Death was caused by severe traumatic head injury due to a gunshot wound,” he testified.
Chief Inspector Stephen Murega, then Deputy DCIO for Changamwe, said ballistic analysis confirmed the spent cartridge recovered at the scene was fired from Omondi’s G3 rifle, which still had 18 rounds. He said the officers should have alerted colleagues ahead to intercept the vehicle instead of shooting.
Matatu owner Hussein Racha told the court he had asked Mwangi to collect the vehicle from the garage and park it overnight. He found it at Changamwe Police Station with blood inside.
The officers told him someone had been killed in it. He confirmed the vehicle had no insurance but denied knowing about the confrontation. Omondi, who is attached to Tononoka AP Camp, admitted being at the roadblock. He said there were eight armed officers — three from Prisons, three from Makupa Police Station, and two from Tononoka.
When the matatu driver ignored their signal, Chai ordered a pursuit after he almost got hit. Omondi claimed 2017 was marked by insecurity and al-Shabaab activity in Mombasa, justifying the heightened vigilance. He also alleged the investigations unfairly targeted APs.
However, evidence showed neither Chai nor Omondi was in danger when the fatal shot was fired. The distance from Makande roadblock to the Changamwe Flyover, where the shooting occurred, is about two kilometres. The officers had taken a private vehicle to pursue the matatu, undermining the claim of immediate danger.
Omondi’s reference to al-Shabaab was found misleading since no terror attacks were reported in Mombasa between January and November 2017. By the date of the shooting, elections had already been held with only the repeat presidential poll pending, on October 26.
Justice Ann Ong’injo ruled that Mwangi’s death resulted from a gunshot fired from Omondi’s rifle. “The accused did not deny that his firearm discharged the fatal shot. It is therefore not in doubt that the death was caused by an unlawful act committed by the accused,” she said.
Justice Ong’injo concluded that Omondi unlawfully caused Mwangi’s death, though without intent to kill.
The judge found no evidence of malice aforethought but noted recklessness in discharging the firearm.
“Although the accused acted in the course of duty, the force used was unreasonable. Using a rifle against a moving matatu carrying passengers was disproportionate,” she ruled.
Justice Ong’injo concluded that the prosecution had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Omondi unlawfully caused Mwangi’s death, though without intent to kill.
“The proper offence disclosed is manslaughter, and the accused is hereby convicted,” she ruled.
