Milimani Law Courts Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, allowed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to detain Ezekiel Kipkoech Tarus, a police officer linked to the death of his colleague, at the Ruaraka Police Station for 10 days.
The DCI had requested the court to allow them to detain Tarus for 14 days to enable them to complete investigations of his involvement in the murder of Raphael Kimuli Wambua.
Delivering the ruling, Chief Magistrate Onyina stated that after considering submissions from both sides, there was no doubt the respondent was being investigated for murder charges.
“I considered the submissions from both sides, and the respondent will be detained for 10 days,” Chief Magistrate Onyina ruled.
Identification parade
The DCI sought to detain the police officer for 14 days so they could conduct an identification parade, allow the murder weapon to be examined, and take the respondent to Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital for mental assessment.
According to Investigation Officer (IO) Suleiman Mwatajiri, Tarus is suspected of murdering Kimuli Wambua on February 23, 2025, contrary to Section 203 as read with Section 204 of the Penal Code Cap 63 Laws of Kenya.
Tarus, a police officer attached to VIP protection at Safaricom, is suspected of killing Wambua, who was attached to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), at the Naivas area within Ruaraka by shooting him with his pistol.
“Tarus is suspected to have fatally shot the deceased person using his firearm, a Jericho pistol s/no KP 44338440, where the matter was reported vide OB NO. 03/23/02/2025 of Ruaraka Police Station,” part of the application read.
According to the application, at the time of the incident, the deceased was in the company of his brother, Erick Ngolania Wambua, a police officer attached to the GSU headquarters.
The two brothers had reportedly gone to watch a football match and drink at a bar in the Naivas area, where they stayed until around 1:20 am.
On their way home, Tarus allegedly attacked them and shot the deceased.
In an affidavit, Watajiri stated that after the incident, Tarus was subjected to mob injustice by members of the public but was fortunately rescued by police officers from Ruaraka Police Station.
Officer’s life in danger
He sought to detain the suspect for 14 more days, citing that his life was in danger.
“The respondent’s life is in danger considering that on the material day he was subjected to mob injustice,” part of the application read.
Furthermore, he stated that Tarus, being a police officer, may interfere with the ongoing investigations and compromise witnesses.
Additionally, Watajiri indicated that the officer needed to undergo a mental assessment at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital before being charged with the offense.
However, lawyer Shadrack Wambui, representing officer Tarus, strongly opposed the DCI’s proposal to subject his client to a mental assessment.
He also opposed the DCI’s application to detain the suspect for 14 more days, arguing that he had already been in custody for eight days.
Lawyer Wambui argued that his client, who has been under police surveillance, cannot interfere with investigations, adding that he has no control over the DCI’s inquiries.
Lastly, Wambui asked the court to release Tarus on bail so he could recuperate from the injuries he sustained from the mob injustice.
The matter will be mentioned on March 11, 2025.