Autopsy shows Kilimani businessman Kevin Omwenga was shot in the heart

Businessman Chris Obure and his bodyguard Robert Ouko at the Kibera Law Courts in Nairobi yesterday. [David Gichuru, Standard]

The bullet that killed a Nairobi businessman in his house in Kilimani on Friday night hit him from a close range, tearing through his heart and left lung, an autopsy has shown.

The postmortem, carried out by the chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor, also showed the bullet was fired from a high position, killing Kevin Omwenga, 28, on the spot. “Given the trajectory of the bullet, it shows it was fired from a bit higher place. He died on the spot,” Oduor said. 

As the post-mortem was being conducted, businessman Chris Obure and his bodyguard Robert Ouko were in court over Omwenga's death.

Ouko is the key suspect in the murder while the gun said to have been used in the killing reportedly belongs to Obure.

The police sought more time to detain them to complete investigations when the duo appeared before Kibera Principal Magistrate Derrick Kuto yesterday.

The autopsy shows the victim also had a collapsed lung and suffered internal bleeding.

Ouko told the police Omwenga was shot accidentally as they exchanged the gun. The gun would also be sent for ballistic tests to establish if it had been used in any crime.

Ouko said Omwenga was carrying the weapon as they got into the house at Galana Suites. He said they had gone to the bedroom for him to hand it over when the incident happened.

And in court, through a miscellaneous application, the prosecution said the team investigating the murder is yet to record statements from key witnesses, take fingerprints and take the two for DNA sampling.

In an affidavit, the investigating officer Bashir Boya swore that releasing the suspects would interfere with investigations and scare away potential witnesses.

“We are yet to take them for mental assessment and take the firearm used in the murder for ballistic examination. We also need time to retrieve CCTV footage from the scene,” Boya said.

He said preliminary investigations had established Ouko accompanied Omwenga to his house for dinner on the fateful Friday.

After dinner, Ouko excused himself to go home but before he could leave, they went to the bedroom. Soon after, a loud sound similar to a gunshot was heard.

"Ouko hurriedly came out of the bedroom and said he wanted to rush somewhere but was restrained by Omwenga's nephew. Another guest went to the bedroom and found Omwenga lying on the floor, holding his chest,” swore Boya.

He stated that the deceased was taken to Nairobi Women’s Hospital in Hurlingham where he was pronounced dead. Boya said in an attempt to conceal the murder, Ouko allegedly went back to Glo-jet offices at Senteu Plaza to hide the gun.

Boya swore that it was only after Ouko was arrested on Saturday that he led detectives to Senteu Plaza where a firearm, loaded with 13 rounds of ammunition, was recovered. He said the weapon belongs to Ouko's boss, Obure. “This is why we believe their continued detention is necessary,” swore Boya.

Obure and Ouko’s lawyers, led by PLO Lumumba opposed the application to detain them for a further 14 days arguing there were no compelling reasons to grant the orders. They said it is unconstitutional and against their right to a fair trial.

Lumumba said Obure and Ouko cannot interfere with investigations as all the exhibits are already in the custody of the police.

The magistrate will rule today on whether they should be detained or not.