By Andrew Kariuki
Fresh developments have emerged in the ongoing inquest into the death of 23 year old interior designer Jeff Mwathi, after the court viewed CCTV footage capturing his final moments before he fell from the 10th floor of an apartment in Nairobi’s Roysambu area.
During the hearing, Chief Inspector Timothy Bet from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) took the stand for cross examination as a series of video clips were replayed in court, detailing events before and after Mwathi’s death on February 22, 2023.
The footage, retrieved from Redwood Apartments, shows movements inside and outside the building during the early morning hours.
One of the clips, which has become a focal point of the inquiry, captures the moment a body believed to be Mwathi’s fell at around 5:53 a.m, shortly after two men were seen returning to the apartment floor.
Inspector Bet told the court that, based on the timestamps, the person seen falling appeared to have their limbs stretched outward in what he described as a “split-second fall.”
The court also viewed portions of footage showing individuals moving near the scene moments after the fall, including one man in bluish clothing and a white hood, who appeared to be the first to notice the body on the ground.
Lawyer Danstan Omari, representing Mwathi’s family, questioned whether the man identified as the first responder had raised any alarm and whether investigators followed up on others captured near the scene.
Omari also pressed the officer to clarify the movements of another person described in court as wearing a white T-shirt, blue shorts, a cap and a chain labeled Person of Interest Number Two. Bet confirmed that the individual appeared to have seen the body.
Meanwhile, lawyer Martia Swiga, representing another party in the case, questioned a forensic expert on how the CCTV footage was obtained, handled and analyzed, raising concerns over possible discrepancies in camera angles and timing.
The cross-examination sought to establish whether the video evidence had been altered or remained intact since it was retrieved.
The footage forms a key part of the inquest, which aims to determine whether Mwathi’s death was accidental, suicidal or the result of foul play.
Investigators have said the timeline, showing Mwathi’s fall minutes after two men returned to the floor, remains central to reconstructing his final moments.
The hearing also revisited the investigative timeline, with witnesses confirming that detectives visited the scene on March 10, 2023, several weeks after the incident, to recover and review the footage.
The inquest continues before the Milimani Law Courts, with additional witnesses expected to testify as the court seeks to establish the full truth behind the young designer’s mysterious death.
