Police find more guns in Chris Obure’s house as murder probe continues

By , K24 Digital
On Thu, 27 Aug, 2020 16:22 | 2 mins read
Chris Obure
Robert Ouko Bodo (left) and Chris Obure at a Kibra court on August 24, 2020. PHOTO | SHEILA MUTUA
Robert Ouko Bodo (left) and Chris Obure at a Kibra court on August 24, 2020. PHOTO | SHEILA MUTUA

Detectives have recovered two additional firearms from the residence of businessman Chris Obure in Kilimani.

Obure, whose Ceska pistol was used in the fatal shooting of another businessman, Kevin Omwenga, on Friday night, is in police custody together with his bodyguard Robert Ouko Bodo after the court granted Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives 12 more days to detain them as they complete investigations into the shooting of Omwenga.

Ouko is accused of fatally shooting Omwenga inside the deceased’s bedroom on the seventh floor of the Galana Suites, located on Galana Road in Kilimani, Nairobi.

Mystery into gun possession deepened following reports that given his past records, Obure was not fit to be issued with a firearm.

Early 2017, the same Mini Ceska that was used in killing Omwenga was confiscated after Obure was found to have misused it by threatening another businessman, Ben Alila.

On May 29 last year, Milimani Senior ResidentMagistrate Rashid, however, ruled that Obure’s firearm be returned to him.

“Upon hearing the application dated May 29, 2018, in presence of the defense counsel, the prosecution and the accused, it is hereby ordered that the Civilian Firearm type S/A/Pistol serial number B156623 be returned to one Philip O. Obure and to the Chief Firearm Licencing officer to comply and the DCI Kilimani police station,” the Judge ruled.

During the Wednesday raid, detectives recovered a pistol and a shotgun hidden in a safe in the office on Senteu Plaza on Galana Road.

The firearms were seized at his offices, the same place where the firearm used in the killing of Omwenga was recovered.

The DCI boss, George Kinoti, said they had written to the Firearms Licencing Board seeking to know the status of the firearms.

“We are investigating to establish the truth. This is shocking and cruel,” Kinoti said.

Both Obure and Bodo are accused of the murder of Omwenga.

An autopsy by the Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor revealed that Omwenga showed that the deceased was hit in the heart and his lung had collapsed out of the impact.

The bullet was fired from a higher position. Ouko has, however, claimed that the shooting was accidental.

Detectives are also investigating claims that the deceased and Obure had a day before the killing, on Saturday, disagreed over a deal while at a certain hotel in Upper Hill.

The deceased had planned to travel to Dubai to cement the fake gold deal that was launched in March and was to fetch Sh120 million.

This, the detectives believe, was the cause of the bitter disagreement.

Obure had also in 2016 been accused of threatening another man with his firearm while at the Klub House on Ojijo Road in Parklands.

Lack of police action prompted the complainant, Alex Lwin, to write to the ODPP and the then DCI boss Ndegwa Muhoro for action.