Missing two Indians, their driver were taken to forest and killed: investigators file an affidavit in Kenyan court

New Delhi: The investigating agency of Kenya following the case of the missing two Indians filed an affidavit at the Kahawa Law Courts yesterday giving details of how two Indians and their Kenyan taxi driver were trailed, abducted and killed inside Aberdare Forest by a four-man squad of the disbanded Special Service Unit of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Nation newspaper said.

Investigating officer Michael Kirui, in a sworn affidavit filed in court yesterday, said the three were marked men and it was a matter of when, not if, they would be killed.

The affidavit does not highlight the motive for the murders but sheds light on an alleged killer squad ready to pull the trigger and working closely with other rogue elements within the DCI.

Policemen Peter Muthee Gachiku, Francis Muendo Ndonye, John Mwangi Kamau, and Joseph Kamau Mbugua – accused of killing Mohamed Zaid Sami and Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan and their Kenyan taxi driver Nicodemus Mwania – were Monday brought before Chief Magistrate Diana Mochache.

Documents filed at the court detail how the four policemen shared out roles in the assassination of the two Indians.

The newspaper further says that “It is believed that the first respondent (Mr Gachiku) was the operations commander in the planning abductions of Mohammed Zaid Sami and Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan, together with their taxi driver Nicodemus Mwania Mwange,” the investigating officer said in court.

Police say they have relied on call data records in their investigations that have now revealed that the four accused were in constant communication, planning how to execute the murders.

“Call data records indicate that the first respondent communicated with the teams before, during and after the interception. He was also in communication late in the night with other persons of interest who are yet to be identified and it is believed he was briefing them on the operation,” says NPS in court papers.

The prosecution said that, after the arrests of the four police officers, their mobile phones were seized and are yet to be subjected to forensic examination, underlining the reasons it was seeking more time to hold the accused in custody.

“Preliminary investigations, including GPS track logs and call data records, place the respondents, their vehicles and other actors at the scene of the crime and the possible location where their bodies were dumped,” the application reads in part.

While pleading to have the four detained for 30 days, the police said the matter before them was complex and required more time.

Mochache, the judge, pushed the ruling on further detention to tomorrow, even as the defence lawyer Danstan Omari objected saying the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter.

“The investigation is complex and requires more time and collaboration with other government agencies, including India where hail from,” the police said.

Mochache said she needed more time to make a detailed ruling on whether or not the four should continue being detained further.

“As of now, there is no chargesheet before me. The accused are just being investigated. Please accord them dignity and I would also need the name of the police stations where they will be detained until Wednesday when I will make a detailed ruling,” Ms Mochache said, while further directing that the accused should be given access to their legal teams.

Dennis Itumbi, a close aide of Kenyan President William Ruto, has publicly acknowledged that the missing Indians, Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan and Mohamed Zaid Sami Kidwai, were killed by the disbanded DCI unit.

The close aide of the Kenyan President also claimed that the two Indians were part of the Kenya Kwanza digital campaign team, a charge which was denied by the friends of Zulfiqar Khan.

On Monday, India intensified diplomatic pressure on Kenya over the abduction of 2 Indians. Indian envoy met Kenyan President Ruto while Ministry of External Affairs summons New Delhi-based Kenyan High Commissioner

NewsDrum on October 8 reported that top Indian executive Zulfikar Khan, fondly known as Zulfi and his friend have been missing in Nairobi. Zulfi's friends remain worried and appeal to Indian and Kenyan officials to share the details with the family.