Rex Masai murder: Officer in charge of armoury fails to identify Isaiah Murangiri in photos

The officer in charge of the Central Police Station armoury, Corporal Fredrick Odera Okapesi, has failed to recognise the main suspect in the Rex Kanyike Masai murder, Corporal Isaiah Murangiri Ndumba, despite having told the court that he knows him.

This was after the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) displayed to the court through a screen photos that are said to be of Officer Murangiri, which were captured during the Anti-Finance protests in June 2024.

Appearing before Milimani Principal Magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo on Monday, September 1, 2025, Corporal Okapesi struggled to identify Officer Murangiri in the photos, asserting that the person in the photos resembled Benson Kamau.

Lawyer David Tenge, representing IPOA, asked Okapesi whether he was sure that was Officer Kamau. “So that is Officer Benson Kamau?” lawyer Tenge asked.

“Your honour, both Isaiah Murangiri and Benson Kamau are both light-skinned, and I can only identify them when they are produced physically,” Okapesi told the court.

Lawyer Tenge pushed Officer Okapesi harder to tell the court the name of the civilian officer captured wearing a blue shirt and black cap and holding a police walkie-talkie and whether he was really Officer Murangiri.

“You said you know him, and if he is brought to court, you can identify him?” Lawyer Tenge posed. However, officer Okapesi did not respond to that question.

First admission

Earlier, when the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) counsel Makori was cross-examining officer Okapesi, he admitted to knowing Corporal Murangiri.

“How well do you know Isaiah Murangiri?” the prosecutor asked the witness.

“I know him; he is an officer at Central Police Station, and if he walks in this court, I will identify him,” Okapesi said.

IPOA had tabled photos captured on June 18, 2024, and June 20, 2024, that they said were similar in the face and dressing of the prime suspect in the murder of the late activist Rex Masai.

After tendering the photos and the court recalling the main suspect, Officer Murangiri, in court for comparison and to be cross-examined on the captured images, the officer vehemently denied that he was the one in them.

“I’m not the one in those photos; on June 18, 2024, I did not come to work, as I had sought permission to attend to my sick child,” Officer Murangiri told the court.

Further, Murangiri strongly denied that he is the one dressed in a blue shirt, black cap, blue trousers, and black shoes and holding a police walkie-talkie in the captured photos.

Birthmark

On analyzing the photos, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) lawyer David Mwangi pointed out a black birthmark that was in the photos beneath his left ear and which was also in the photos, which Murangiri also denied was him.

“So, now, this other part, please, I wish that everybody allows that we do it this way; please face the court beneath your left ear. Do you know of any spotting on your face? Please touch the bottom of it,” lawyer Mwangi asked Murangiri.

Lawyer Mwangi then asked the court assistant to zoom in on the captured photos on the projector for comparison.

However, Murangiri insisted that he was not the one and also noted that he is not aware of any birthmark on his face, prompting the LSK lawyer to tell him in his closing remarks to ensure that when he gets home, he confirms the mark using his mirror.

Meanwhile, lawyer Mwangi also pointed out the wristband that had Kenyan artwork, and the officer in the photos was on both June 18, 2025, and June 20, 2025, but the officer insisted that he was not the one.

Notably, journalist GG, who captured the photos, appearing virtually before Milimani Principal Magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, pointed out a feature that had not been identified in the previous court proceedings.

The court was shown a photo where the main suspect was standing among other uniformed officers wearing a black cap, dark grey short-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, a black mask, white sports shoes, holding a walkie-talkie and a button.

She revealed that on June 20, 2025, the said officer was also wearing two wristbands, one with a Kenyan flag art theme and another one that had the initials of Izoo.

The witness pointed out that on his left hand, the civilian officer wore a wrist band which had the initials of Izoo, while the right hand had a wrist band with Kenyan flag art.

“Please take me back to the June 20, 2024, photos, where you will see the man in his left hand had a wristband with the initials of Izoo, while the photos showed the hand had Kenyan flag art,” GG pointed out to the court.

The journalist who was testifying from the IPOA offices also informed the court that it was easy for her to identify police officers in civilian clothes.

Further, she also gave an example of the officers who were on civilian arresting protesters captured in the video that she had tendered to IPOA and played in court.

Notably, the witness pointed out that the officer on June 18, 2024, wore a black cap, a light blue shirt, black sports shoes and grey trousers while standing next to the door of a van, which had some protesters who had been arrested outside the Supreme Court building.

Rex Masai was shot dead on June 20, 2024.