Advertisement
Court pauses plea-taking for cop accused of execution-style Mukuru killing
17th February, 2026 12:06 PM
A Nairobi High Court has issued a conservatory order temporarily halting the plea taking of police officer Patrick Mutunga Titus, a person of interest in the fatal shooting of Shukri Adan Ibrahim Issaka.
Mutunga is linked to the murder of Shukri in the Mukuru area of Nairobi County on January 11, 2026, alongside his fellow officer Godwin Mwashuke Mjomba.
Issuing the stay orders, Lady Justice Aburili Roselyne Ekirapa on Monday, February 16, 2026, stated that judicial review proceedings take a shorter time than criminal cases once initiated.
The court noted that Mutunga has demonstrated, prima facie, at this stage, that unless a stay is granted, he will be prejudiced if his prosecution proceeds and the challenge is later found to have merit.
Further, the learned judge averred that she finds no prejudice will be suffered by the State or the family of the deceased, as Officer Mutunga can still be prosecuted for murder if the judicial review court finds that his application has no merit. She added that the matter shall be fast-tracked.
“I hereby hold that the leave so granted shall operate as a stay of taking plea of the applicant herein in Makadara High Court CR Case No. E007 of 2026, and that his prosecution, if at all, for the charge of murder as intended, shall await the hearing and determination of these proceedings, which shall be fast-tracked,” Judge Aburili ruled.
On February 2, 2026, Makadara High Court Judge Muya Martin Mati directed that Mutunga and Mjomba be subjected to a mental checkup before they plead to the murder charges against them.
Mutunga moved to the High Court Judicial Review Division on February 6, 2026, seeking orders quashing the decision of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) to charge him with murder.
Further, he urged the court to stay plea-taking in the murder charge before Makadara High Court, scheduled for Tuesday, February 17, 2026, pending the hearing and determination of his application.
According to Mutunga, there is no basis upon which he is being charged with murder, since the arms movement register shows that all ammunition issued to him was intact, and the autopsy report shows that the deceased died of a single fatal shot to the head.
“That although he had a gun lawfully issued to him, he never used it to shoot the deceased, and therefore the prosecution and IPOA have no basis upon which to charge him with the offence of murder,” Officer Mutunga states in his application.
In addition, Mutunga avers that the firearm register shows he never discharged any ammunition to shoot anyone and that he returned the firearm with all 30 rounds intact.
He contends that the decision to charge him is unreasonable, as there is no legal evidence to prove the charge of murder against him.
