Rex Masai inquest: Activist plays video of plainclothes officer firing two shots at protesters

A chilling video of a plainclothes officer firing two shots at fleeing protesters during the June 20, 2024 demonstrations has been played in court in the Rex Masai inquest.

The footage was presented as Brian James Omondi, alias Alaman, a Dandora-based community human rights defender who testified before Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo on Wednesday.

The one-minute-and-five-second footage showed an officer pursuing protesters along Mama Ngina Street before drawing a short firearm from the right side of his jacket and firing two shots at the fleeing crowd.

The officer, who was in civilian clothes, was seen holding a wooden baton as he moved after the protesters.

Omondi told the court that the officer was wearing a blue denim jacket and a cap, with a wooden club in his hand.

He said the officer appeared to be in plain clothes but was unmistakably a police officer based on his conduct and the officers he had seen earlier during the demonstrations.

“He was wearing a denim blue jacket. He was wearing a cap. He had a wooden club in his hand, and as you can see from the video, he drew a short gun from his right pocket, shot twice at the protesters and returned it back,” Omondi told the court.

The witness told the court that he recorded the video from Wapek Delicacies, a restaurant located in Queensway Building along Mama Ngina Street, where he had retreated after spending the day protesting against the Finance Bill.

He said that at about 7pm, he noticed a large group of young people of protesters came from the direction of Kencom, chanting and blowing whistles as they headed towards City Hall.

He told the court that the protesters appeared peaceful and that he started recording them on his mobile phone because he had been documenting events during the demonstrations.

The footage played in court showed the protesters walking and chanting before they suddenly began running back in the direction from which they had come.

Omondi said he initially could not tell what had caused the protesters to flee.

“At first, I didn't realise or I couldn't see what was making them run,” he said.

He said it was only after the last line of protesters had passed the restaurant window that he noticed three officers in hot pursuit.

“That’s when I realised that in hot pursuit were three officers,” Omondi said.

The witness told the court that all three officers were dressed in civilian clothes and were carrying wooden batons.

“They were all in civilian clothes. None was in uniform at that moment,” he said.

Omondi said he was able to identify them as police officers because he had seen similar officers operating during the protests earlier that day.

“Unmistakably, I could tell these were police officers because you had seen some of them during the day,” he said.

He said the crowd was fleeing when he heard gunshots.

“So we heard gunshots,” Omondi told the court.

The gunfire forced him and others inside the building to stop recording and seek cover.

“Immediately we heard the gunshots, then we had to stop recording and find cover,” he said.

Omondi said they later reviewed the footage and realised that the shooting had been captured.

“That’s when we realised that the gun that had been fired had actually been recorded on that particular video,” he said.

He identified the officer closest to their window as a man wearing a blue denim jacket and a cap and carrying a wooden baton.

“He was wearing a denim blue jacket. He was wearing a cap. He had a wooden club in his hand,” Omondi said.

“I am very confident he is a police officer in plain clothes, and he is holding a wooden baton. He fired the two shots using a shotgun, just below the window where I was standing in the restaurant.”

In his evidence, he further told the court that after firing, the officer appeared to return the firearm into the inside pocket of his denim jacket.

“And then once he had fired, he sort of returned the gun back to inside his denim pocket, like the inside pocket,” he said.

Asked how many shots he heard, Omondi replied: “From the video, at least two shots .”

The activist said he did not immediately know that someone had been shot.

He testified that he later posted the footage on Facebook and TikTok and only learnt several hours later that a protester, Rex Masai, had been shot.

Omondi said he initially did not connect his footage to Masai's shooting until the following day, when the video began circulating online and people started linking it to the incident.

“That is when it hit me that probably this could have been the moment he was shot,” he said.

His evidence comes as the inquest continues to examine the circumstances surrounding Masai's death during the June 20, 2024 anti-Finance Bill protests.

The hearing continues on Thursday