Nine people who spent five tense days in custody over the brutal killing of a young egg vendor at a Nairobi CBD nightclub have walked free, but the man police believe actually delivered the fatal blows remains on the run.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Monday dropped its case against the nine suspects before Milimani Senior Resident Magistrate Irene Thamara, conceding it had found no evidence linking them to the assault and death of Brian Mwendo.
“Your Honour, the DCI did not find any evidence to charge any respondents in court; we pray the matter be marked as closed,” the prosecution told the court.
Mwendo had spent just a week hawking eggs along River Road when tragedy struck.
According to accounts that emerged, Brian was not involved in any dispute, he was peacefully going about his work selling eggs when he was brutally attacked by the bouncer.
The incident unfolded in the early hours of April 4 at Somer Club, a venue situated in the heart of the city near the Odeon Cinema, at around 3:00 a.m.
Bouncer Momanyi allegedly used a blunt object to strike Mwendo repeatedly, with the severity of injuries sustained to his head, chest, and stomach leaving the victim in critical condition.
Mwendo succumbed to his injuries the following day, April 5, at 7:41 a.m. while undergoing treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital.
The victim was a resident of Huruma Estate and a father of a 10-month-old child.
A post-mortem examination was subsequently conducted to establish the full extent of his injuries.
Investigators say the nine suspects, all employees of Somer Club, watched as the bouncer brutally beat Mwendo in full view of staff and patrons.
The prosecution alleged that they worked together to conceal the crime and cover up the killing.
The nine were arrested on April 10 and were being investigated for accessory after the fact to murder and conspiracy to commit a felony.
When they appeared before Magistrate Thamara on April 13, prosecuting counsel Virginia Kariuki told the court that the nine suspects had failed to report the assault and initially ignored police summons requiring them to record statements.
The court had then ordered their detention for five days as investigations continued.
Monday’s proceedings, however, marked the end of the road for the case against the nine suspects Maxwell Mwanzi, Esther Wanjiru, Sheril Okello, Jedida Kamau, Grace Mutheu, Rosemary Wambui, Mary Muhonja, Monica Wanjiku and Catherine Mutheu.
The DCI informed the court that preliminary investigations had confirmed the assault was carried out by bouncer Momanyi alone, using a blunt object.
The nine had been arrested solely because they were present at the scene and were believed to be witnesses, not perpetrators.
The defence lawyer successfully urged the court to order the return of phones confiscated from the nine respondents and to direct the reopening of Somer Club, which police had shut down during investigations.
The prosecution did not oppose the return of the items, and Magistrate Thamara ordered accordingly.
The critical loose end in this case remains Momanyi, the bouncer at the centre of the killing, who is yet to be apprehended.
Nairobi Central Sub-county Police Commander Philemon Nyakombo confirmed that the suspect remains at large, saying: “The main suspect, the bouncer, is still on the run but we will catch up with him.”
Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, who had publicly condemned the killing, raised further alarm, alleging that Momanyi was known for violent behaviour and that just a day before the Somer Club incident, another individual had been assaulted by the same person.
The investigating officer also raised a red flag about the club’s management, noting they had been uncooperative throughout the investigation, raising the likelihood of interference with witnesses.
For the family of deceased Mwendo, a young father barely a week into a new hustle, justice remains painfully out of reach as police continue the manhunt for the bouncer who allegedly took his life.
