A Crime Scene Investigations officer has told the court that investigators were unable to establish whether Jeff Mwathi was pushed, jumped, or was otherwise forced out of a high-rise apartment before his death.
Police Chief Inspector Francis Kieti, who testified during the ongoing proceedings on Monday, said his reconstruction of the scene could not determine what happened in the moments immediately before Mwathi went through a window.
Kieti told the court that he visited the apartment about three weeks after the incident, by which time the premises had been cleaned and returned to its occupants.
The delay, he said, meant that the physical conditions he encountered could not fully represent the scene as it was when Mwathi died.
Kieti was the second scene-of-crime officer to examine the location, following an earlier investigation by another officer. His reconstruction therefore relied partly on photographs taken during the initial response, as well as interviews with investigators.
Despite the limitations, Kieti said investigators recovered what appeared to be blood and brain matter around the area where Mwathi’s body landed.
Under cross-examination, however, he confirmed that the available evidence could not establish whether Mwathi had been pushed, jumped, or otherwise manipulated before going through the window.
He also confirmed that the window had not been dusted for forensic evidence, potentially limiting the amount of physical evidence that could have been recovered from the point through which Mwathi exited the building.
The dimensions and design of the window formed a significant part of Kieti’s testimony.
Kieti described the opening as square-shaped and measuring about 4 feet 10 inches. It was fitted with metal grills divided into two sections, with each section containing six smaller spaces.
He explained that only the glass sections could open, while the metal grills remained fixed to the frame.
The court heard that Mwathi was approximately 175 centimetres tall. Kieti, however, acknowledged that measurements taken from the body could have been affected by decomposition and swelling.
He also agreed that a recorded shoulder measurement of 52 centimetres could have increased because of decomposition changes to the soft tissue.
Kieti maintained that it was physically possible for a person to pass through the window, although injuries could occur depending on the circumstances.
He told the court that resistance could potentially result in more injuries if a conscious person was pushed through the opening.
However, he reiterated that the reconstruction could not determine which of the possible scenarios had occurred.
The court also heard that the reconstruction was undertaken following public concern over whether the initial investigation into Mwathi’s death had been conclusive.
Kieti agreed with the suggestion that the initial inquiry could be described as inconclusive.
His testimony highlighted the difficulties investigators faced in reconstructing the scene weeks after the incident, particularly after the apartment had been cleaned and returned to its occupants.
The 23-year-old Kenyan interior designer died on February 22, 2023, after falling from the 10th-floor apartment in Roysambu, Kasarani.
His death became a highly publicised case in Kenya and led to a homicide investigation and subsequent public court inquest.