16 years on, journalist's murder cover up exposes legacy of fear and silence

What do the gruesome murder of a journalist 16 years ago and the recent wave of abductions and disappearances of government critics and protesters have in common?

The answer is chilling—a justice system that buries the truth and protects the perpetrators. 

For 16 years, all Francis Nyaruri’s family has wanted is to see justice done following his abduction and gruesome murder in 2009.

Nyaruri, an investigative journalist who wrote under the pseudonym Mong’are Mokua for the Weekly Citizen paper, had published exposés that angered some of Kenya’s powerful people, including a report implicating a commanding police officer of using substandard materials in the construction of the Nyamira police station.That reporting led to Nyaruri’s murder.

Following the story’s publication, police allegedly abducted Nyaruri on January 16, 2009, handed him over to a criminal gang, and two weeks later his decomposing body was found in Kodera Forest, Oyugis. His hands were bound with a rope from behind, his skull smashed, and his face was so brutally disfigured that his own family struggled to identify him. 

Nyaruri’s killers were known and some even put on trial. The evidence seemed clear— yet justice has never been served. The men charged with Nyaruri’s murder were eventually acquitted.

Sixteen years later, it has now been established that the evidence of a star witness, who confessed involvement in Nyaruri’s murder, was never presented in court because of police corruption. And in an even more shocking development, two investigating police officers claim they received death threats from the then Nyamira commanding officer whose name we will not reveal.

Now, Nyaruri’s family has taken legal action against several state institutions, including the Inspector General of Police (IG), the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), the Attorney General (AG), and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), accusing them of failing to conduct investigations competently, shielding key suspects, and failing to deliver justice. Represented by Kariuki Karanja and Company Advocates, the family argues that these key institutions have ignored calls for action, failed to conduct thorough investigations, released key suspects without explanation, concealed crucial evidence, and shielded perpetrators from accountability.

The ODPP faces accusations of prosecutorial misconduct for failing to call key witnesses whose confessions implicated several individuals, including police officers. The family’s lawsuit exposes systemic failures in Kenya’s criminal justice system, accusing IPOA, IG, ODPP, and the AG of botched investigations, shielding suspects, and enabling a culture of impunity to thrive.

The family is suing the government for violating Nyaruri’s constitutional right to life. “The State failed to protect Nyaruri’s life and subjected him to torture, prohibited under the Convention Against Torture and other international human rights instruments Kenya has signed,” Karanja says. The family is seeking a mandatory order for the immediate completion of investigations into Nyaruri’s abduction, torture, and murder, and calling for prosecution of those responsible. They are also demanding general and exemplary damages for the violations of his fundamental rights.

Systemic failures

The lawsuit follows years of frustration over institutional failures and blatant inaction. In September 2022, the family formally petitioned the ODPP and IPOA for a fresh review of the case after it emerged that a key witness and his chilling confession were never presented in court. Although the ODPP acknowledged receipt of the request and referred the matter to IPOA in November 2022, citing their mandate to investigate and address police misconduct, there has been no evidence of any action being taken.

The family contends that this inaction mirrors the same systemic failures, plagued by procedural inefficiencies, missing evidence, and witness intimidation that derailed the initial investigation and trial, allowing those responsible—including senior police officials—to evade accountability for more than 16 years now.

Court documents filed by Nyaruri’s family in the Kisumu High Court’s Constitutional and Human Rights Division (Petition No. E007 of 2025) on February 11 reveal chilling details of his abduction and murder, and how systemic impunity and interference hindered the pursuit of his justice. The family’s demand for justice for their kin is anchored on the shocking revelations from Evans Mose Bosire, a star witness, who allegedly confessed to his involvement in the Nyaruri’s murder.

According to court documents, a statement recorded by then-Chief Inspector Peter Mwangi at Kisii Police Station details a disturbing web of collusion between senior police officers and criminal elements. However, in a baffling turn of events, this confession was omitted during the trial, prompting the family to raise serious questions about possible obstruction of justice and complicity by those meant to uphold the law.

Before his abduction and murder, Nyaruri allegedly received death threats from Lawrence Njoroge Mwaura who was then the Nyamira Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD). The threats, according to Nyaruri’s wife, Gladys Kwamboka, and father, Peter Tari, stemmed from Nyaruri’s story on construction materials. In a desperate bid to suppress the facts of the story, the OCPD allegedly had the defective roofing materials removed the night before the story was published.

Despite the shocking nature of Nyaruri’s death, investigations into his murder were sluggish at best and possibly sabotaged deliberately at worst. Two prime suspects, Japheth Mange’ere Nyainda and Winfred Nyambati Nyakundi, were ultimately acquitted in the Kisumu High Court. Despite testimony from 10 prosecution witnesses, the court ruled that there was insufficient evidence linking them to the murder.

However, Justice Hilary Kiplagat Chemitei, who presided over the case, raised serious questions. “Even more intriguing is the role played by the OCPD Nyamira and Evans Mose, the Taxi driver and the boyfriend to one Teresia. Did the OCPD, by any chance, have anything to do with the deceased’s death, especially now that he had been threatened when he was pursuing the corruption story? How about the other people mentioned, including Mose? Why didn’t he make a statement?”

Chilling revelation

Court documents reveal that Evans Mose, the key witness in the case, was arrested after investigators traced Nyaruri’s missing mobile phone to him. Mose allegedly confessed to using the phone and later implicated others, including his girlfriend, Teresia Nyaboke, who also had used the phone two days after Nyaruri went missing.

Mose’s testimony painted a chilling picture of the events leading to Nyaruri’s gruesome death. On the day of the abduction, Mose claims to have driven three men, identified in court documents only by nicknames – Kafupi, Nyambati, and Bosco, all alleged members of the Kisii’s notorious “Sungusungu” gang to the Zonic Hotel in Kisii town. At the hotel, two police officers allegedly joined the group after one gang member called them. The officers entered the hotel and emerged with a man who would later be identified as Francis Nyaruri, wearing a cap and carrying two newspapers.

Mose drove the six men in his Toyota Corolla, with license KAM 488K, a taxi allegedly owned by Police Constable Muia, who was claimed to be linked to OCPD Mwaura. They drove towards Kisii Hotel on the outskirts of Kisii town and while squeezed in the backseat, Nyaruri was ordered to show his national ID. He insisted he was a journalist, not a criminal, as his captors had claimed. After verifying his identity, Bosco instructed Mose to drive back to Kisii town, where the officers got out, leaving Nyaruri with the gang.

Court documents further reveal that Mose drove the group to pick up one more man, identified as Japheth Mange’era Nyainda, from a welding shop at Nyakoe market, before driving through various markets and finally stopping at a forest, where the gang dragged Nyaruri into the thicket. Moments later, they returned without him, but one of the suspects, Nyainda, was wearing Nyaruri’s shoes, jacket, and a cap.

The account grew more disturbing. Evans allegedly confessed further that after a week, a suspect named Nyambati admitted to killing the journalist and asked Evans to return them to the forest to burn the body with acid, a request Evans declined. Mose’s evidence was never presented in court, and apart from Nyainda, none of the other key suspects he named were arraigned or called to testify. Instead, Mose and his girlfriend were unexpectedly released without explanation, and their whereabouts remain unknown.

Court documents and testimonies further show that investigating officers faced threats from senior police officials, including OCPD Mwaura, who was never questioned despite being adversely implicated. Officers Julius Musoga and Nicholas Mubeya testified that they received death threats from OCPD Mwaura. Another officer, Robert Natwoli, who initially led the investigation, was transferred under mysterious circumstances while facing intense pressure and threats from both police and the gang members. 

Despite key witness confessions and phone tracking linking the accused, including senior police officers and taxi driver Evans Mose, the investigation stalled after investigating officers were threatened. The judge noted that crucial phone logs were “dumped” in court without any analysis report. Other suspects and witnesses were either released without explanation or failed to give statements due to interference.

The shoddy police work and the inaction of law enforcement gravely “undermined the investigation and highlights a justice system unwilling or unable to confront its own,” according to Karanja, the lawyer for the Nyaruri family.

The lawyer adds that these threats and intimidations point to deliberate cover-up efforts by those who were then in power. Despite overwhelming evidence and public outcry, no significant progress has been made in prosecuting those responsible for Nyaruri’s murder 16 years on.

“We are seeking to establish the whereabouts of Evans Mose and his girlfriend, Teresia, and the members of the suspected gang who are criminally mentioned in our petition,” says Karanja. “Did they have families? Did their families report them missing at any given time? Is there any official record or investigation into their disappearance?”

The family’s lawyer points out IPOA’s repeated disregard for appeals and demands to review the Nyaruri murder case in September 2022. Despite formal requests and follow-up letters to both IPOA and ODPP, no response or updates have been provided. A March 2024 letter from the family to IPOA over the case further exposes this lack of communication. Even after the ODPP officially called on IPOA to take action in November 2022, the agency remained silent. In a further attempt to seek accountability, a May 2024 request from the AG’s office for a case update from IPOA went unanswered, exposing a persistent pattern of institutional inaction and impunity, court documents show.

Kenya’s justice system claims independence but, critics argue, bends to political pressure, corruption, and inefficiency. Cases against high-ranking officials stall, collapse on technicalities, or end in token convictions. In Nyaruri’s case, only low-level operatives were charged, while those higher up — including those within the police — were shielded by the very system meant to ensure justice. Critics argue that while police have denied involvement in the current wave of abductions and disappearances just as it was in the Nyaruri murder, several sources say a criminal gang operating outside the law may be carrying them out under the sanction of senior police officers—mirroring the case of Nyaruri, who was identified and later handed over to a gang before his brutal murder.

Mwaura, the senior police commander criminally implicated in Nyaruri’s murder, allegedly rose in ranks to serve as chief instructor for junior officers at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) before allegedly transferred and appointed deputy director of the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) under the previous Uhuru Kenyatta administration.

Secret unit

In a January report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) revealed that the DCI and the National Intelligence Service (NIS) had formed a covert unit called “Operation Support Unit” (OSU) to replace the disbanded “Special Service Unit” (SSU), which was implicated in several abductions and enforced disappearances during the previous administration. HRW alleges that the OSU operates secretly under NIS directives, carrying out violent operations, including abductions, disappearances, and possible killings. 

Since June 2024, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has recorded 63 extrajudicial killings, and 89 enforced disappearances, with 29 persons still missing. Police have made no progress in holding those responsible for these human rights violations to date, KNCHR says. While the national police and government deny involvement, Kenya’s history of state-sponsored abductions and extrajudicial killings has left many fearing a return to the dark era witnessed in the early 1990s.

Nyaruri’s brutal murder was an execution designed to instill fear, and the lack of justice has only emboldened further attacks on journalists, according to those working in the media industry. Over the years, Kenyan journalists exposing state corruption and human rights abuses have faced harassment, arrests, abductions, and even assassinations.

One of the most high-profile cases was that of John Kituyi, a veteran journalist and editor whose weekly newspaper was investigating witness tampering in the International Criminal Court (ICC) cases against then-President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, now President William Ruto. Kituyi was murdered in April 2015, and like Nyaruri, his killers were never brought to justice.

The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has recorded at least 612 violations of press freedom between January 2013 and September 2024, including physical assaults, chilling death threats, and relentless intimidation of journalists. The police remain the chief perpetrators, yet accountability is nonexistent. Many journalists endure beatings, live in constant fear of being targeted, or are forced into silence—while those who dare to report violations find their complaints ignored, reinforcing the deep-seated culture of impunity within Kenya’s justice system.

This unchecked brutality extends far beyond the media. In October 2024, Kenya’s election to the UN Human Rights Council was hailed as a victory for justice, granting it a mandate to uphold international human rights standards, advocate for justice, and contribute to global discussions on human rights violations. Yet, just months before and after, the government unleashed brutal force against Gen Z protesters opposing the Finance Bill—killing dozens, injuring hundreds, and disappearing many. Now, Kenya sits on a global human rights body while its own citizens live in fear of police brutality and enforced disappearances. Analysts question whether its UNHRC membership is anything more than a diplomatic farce, given its blatant disregard for the very principles it claims to champion.

Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo echoes these concerns, highlighting the glaring contradictions and calling out security agencies for accountability. “The ball is in their court,” stated Odhiambo. “The responsibility lies with the National Police Service. They must tell us what is happening in this country. If it is not them abducting and killing Kenyans, then who is?”

Meanwhile, IPOA insists it is unable to investigate the rising abductions, which many Kenyans believe are being carried out by police units, particularly the DCI and the NIS.

 International organisations have condemned IPOA’s failure to deliver justice for Nyaruri, despite years of promises and strong evidence. Jules Swinkels, a researcher with A Safer World for the Truth, a joint initiative of Free Press Unlimited, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Reporters Without Borders investigating unresolved journalist murders, criticised the policing oversight body for making commitments without showing progress.

“We understand resources are stretched, but holding police accountable is IPOA’s duty,” he said.  “Justice should have been served 16 years ago,” Swinkels added

 The murder of Nyaruri 16 years ago is more than just the loss of life, according to those who have followed the case, it exposes a justice system designed to protect the powerful.  His killers remain free, and now his family’s legal battle seeks to put an end to the culture of impunity that allows such crimes to go unpunished. “This is not just a call for justice for one journalist,” said Karanja, the family’s lawyer. “It is a demand to dismantle the system of impunity that continues to put journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens at risk.”