Four years after the tragic deaths of Boniface Njiru (22) and Emmanuel Mutura (19), their case continues to unravel in Milimani High Court, where six police officers face charges of murder.
The trial resumed on Monday, bringing chilling eyewitness testimony that paints a grim picture of alleged police brutality on the night of August 1, 2021.
Newton Kinyua, a security guard at Namuru Bar, told Justice Margaret Muigai that he witnessed the brothers being violently assaulted before being loaded into a police Landrover.
“Boniface and Mutura were with four others when they came out of Namuru Bar and Restaurant around 10 pm. They ran in different directions when they saw the police vehicle, as it was during the Covid-19 curfew. A police officer with a long stick jumped from the vehicle and attacked Boniface,”
Kinyua recounted.
He described how Boniface was struck repeatedly until he fell unconscious, after which another officer set upon Mutura with punches and kicks.
Kinyua, who had taken cover in a public toilet, said he could see everything clearly under the electric lights.
“The two officers picked Boniface from the ground and loaded him into the Landrover. They also helped Mutura to his feet and assisted him into the vehicle. I saw it speed off towards Kianjakoma Hospital. I noticed the vehicle leave the hospital after some time,”
he testified.
Kinyua told the court that both brothers were his friends and ran a butchery business at Kianjakoma.
He learned the following day that they had died.
During cross-examination, defense lawyers Martina Swiga and Danstan Omari questioned Kinyua’s ability to identify the officers or confirm the deaths.
“I did not see the police kill the two brothers, nor did I see them jump from the moving vehicle,”
Kinyua admitted.
The six accused, James Mwaniki Njogu, Benson Mbuthia, Consolata Kariuki, Nicholas Cheruiyot, Martin Wanyama, and Lilian Cherono, have consistently denied murdering the brothers while enforcing Covid-19 curfew rules.
Their plea was entered on August 17, 2021, and the case was later inherited by Justice Muigai following the demise of Justice Daniel Ogembo.
Prosecution testimony states that police were patrolling to enforce curfew regulations when they encountered the brothers, who were walking home after closing their business.
Reports indicate that some bars in Muchagori, Embu, were operating beyond the stipulated curfew.
The mother of the deceased testified that she had called her sons to close their business and return home early, but instead, she learned that they had been killed by police.
The incident sparked public outrage in Embu County, leading to demonstrations that resulted in the burning of a police vehicle.
The defense challenged the credibility of Kinyua’s account, arguing that the incident occurred at night, during rain, making it impossible for him to clearly see or follow the police vehicle.
“The witness is relying on what he heard and saw from a distance. It is not clear whether the brothers died in the vehicle or jumped from it,” defense lawyers submitted.
Justice Muigai directed that the trial would continue with further witness testimony on February 12 and 19, 2026, with the next hearing scheduled for February 5, 2026.
