Criminal past emerges as parents seek answers for sons gunned down

Sources said the killed men had pending criminal cases in Nairobi and Machakos.

A relative said Kinyua left the prison a month before his mysterious death. "We have tried speaking to him (Kinyua) but it was all in vain," she told The Standard at the mortuary.

"They were all in jail together. They were facing a charge of robbery with violence case that had been reported at Kayole Police Station."

She said the young man was arrested in January after police investigations implicated him in a robbery incident in Utawala.

"He (Kinyua) together with his friend were granted Sh200,000 cash bail by a Mavoko court. However, as a family we decided not to pay the bond and wanted him to stay behind bars until he reforms," she said.

She said the family only came to learnt of his death from the media. "We don't know how he left prison since we didn't pay the bond for him to leave."

Hilda Nyambura, an aunt of Mwangi, said the family was seeking justice for the death of their son.

The four men were shot dead in a car on the Christmas Eve.

A report from the Buruburu Police Station to Vigilance House said officers found three bodies outside the vehicle. The fourth body was inside a grey Suzuki Swift.

According to the police, several daggers were found inside the vehicle.

Officers who arrived at the scene at around 7am said they were informed of the bodies by a resident who claimed to have heard gunshots at at around 3am on Sunday.

The said resident told police he thought that some residents were lighting fireworks ahead of the Christmas festivities.

Preliminary reports by crime scene investigators revealed that the three men whose bodies were found outside the vehicle were sprayed with bullets while lying on the ground.

The fourth man, according to the investigators, had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head and stomach.

The investigators believe that the three were pulled out of their car and shot dead.

On the murder weapon, the police said a Ceska pistol may have been used.

However, the police did not find cartridges at the scene, with investigators saying the killers could have been well trained people.