Bullet That Killed Rex Masai Came From Rifle Not Pistols, Court Told

The inquest into the death of 29-year-old protester Rex Masai resumed on Monday with fresh revelations from a senior firearms expert. Senior Superintendent Alex Mdindi Mwandawiro of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters told a Nairobi court that the bullet fragment submitted for examination could not have been discharged from the pistols provided by police.

Mwandawiro testified that the damaged bullet jacket, handed over by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) on July 1, 2024, weighed 0.38 grams and bore right-hand twist engravings with a large engraved area, though its core was missing. According to him, the characteristics pointed to a live rifle round, not pistol ammunition.

He explained that the pistols submitted by DCI Central Police Station were of a different calibre, ruling them out as the source of the fatal shot. Instead, the bullet matched rifles such as the Russian AK-1, the Israeli Galil, or Kenya’s locally manufactured Chalbi rifle.

However, under cross-examination, Mwandawiro admitted that his conclusions were not definitive since no rifles capable of firing the bullet were presented for testing. “The bullet did not pass through the pistols we received. My duty was simply to examine the exhibits submitted,” he said.

In a further twist, Mwandawiro revealed that although he had been supplied with three pistols for analysis, one was missing. He also contradicted earlier testimonies that no live ammunition was used during the maandamano protests where Masai was killed. “My examination revealed that the damaged jacket was part of a rifled bullet, not rubber,” he told trial magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo.