Former State agents linked to the murder of two Indians and a Kenyan in July 2022 have been freed on Sh1 million bail or Sh3 million bond and a surety of a similar amount.

High Court judge Francis Rayola, in his ruling, said the prosecution had not given compelling reasons to deny the 15 men bail. “Having considered all the material placed before me and the pre-bail reports that have been filed for all the accused persons, I do find that the allegations made against the accused persons do not amount to compelling reasons to deny them admission to bond or bail,” he ruled.

The 15 men worked with the disbanded Special Service Unit (SSU) of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Kenya Wildlife Service and the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

They denied murdering Zulfiqar Khan and Sami Zaid Kidwai, and their Kenyan taxi driver, Nicodemus Mwania.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions says that Khan, Kidwai and Mwania were abducted and killed on July 22, 2022.

They were on their way to the Ole Sereni Hotel where they were staying after spending part of the night at an entertainment joint in Westlands.

The two Indians were in the country on tourist visas and were to become part of then Deputy President William Ruto’s election team as information technology experts in the 2022 General Election.

Peter Muthee, James Kiboseck, Joseph Mbugua, Simon Muhuga, David Kipsoi, Stephen Matunda, Elkana Njeru, John Mwangi, Paul Njogu, Hillary Kipchumba, Redrick Thuku, Joseph Mwenda and Boniface Otieno all worked for the disbanded SSU.

The two others in the case are John Wanjiku Macharia (NIS), and Michael Kiplang’at Bett (KWS).

Justice Rayola barred them from travelling outside the county and ordered that their passports be deposited in court. He further said the accused can only travel outside the country after permission from the court.

“The accused will all attend when required without fail.”

The judge ordered the 15 men not to contact any witnesses listed in the case either directly or through proxies.

“In the event that any of these conditions are violated, they are liable to have their bond cancelled and their case will proceed when they are back in custody.”