Police Coverup? Seven Bullets From State House Bodyguard’s Gun Contradicts Report

A fatal shooting in Kawangware involving a police corporal attached to State House has sparked allegations of a police cover-up, as an official incident report starkly contradicts eyewitness accounts.

The incident, which left 35-year-old Amos Lang’at dead with seven gunshot wounds, has raised questions about transparency and accountability within Kenya’s National Police Service.

Corporal Muhammed Yusuf Keinan, assigned to the security detail of State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed, reported that he was attacked by three unknown men on a motorcycle on Sunday, March 23, 2025, at around 8:00 p.m. in the Kwa Mungai area of Amboseli, Kawangware.

According to the incident report logged under OB No. 56/23/03/2025 at Muthangari Police Station, Keinan claimed the assailants attempted to steal his Ceska pistol.

He alleged that he fought them off, fired a warning shot into the air, and fled to the station—approximately four kilometers away—sustaining fractures to his left hand and shoulder in the process.

However, the discovery of Lang’at’s body at the scene, riddled with multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and stomach, has cast doubt on Keinan’s account.

Police from Muthangari Station later confirmed that Lang’at was rushed to Mary Immaculate Hospital on Gitanga Road, where he succumbed to his injuries.

A postmortem would later reveal that Lang’at had been shot seven times, a detail that sharply undermines the officer’s claim of firing only a single warning shot.

Eyewitnesses in Kwa Mungai paint a dramatically different picture. Residents allege that Lang’at and Keinan, who were known to be friends and frequently seen together in the area, had been playing pool earlier that evening before a dispute erupted.

According to one witness, the altercation escalated when Lang’at grabbed Keinan’s firearm during a struggle.

The officer reportedly regained control of the weapon, holstered it, and began walking away. Lang’at, allegedly intoxicated and holding a stone, followed him.

It was then, witnesses say, that Keinan drew his pistol and fired multiple shots into Lang’at’s chest and stomach before leaving the scene.

“They were friends. We’ve seen them together here many times,” said a local resident who claimed to have witnessed the incident.

“This wasn’t some random attack by robbers—it was personal.”

The discrepancies between Keinan’s official statement and the eyewitness accounts have fueled suspicions of a cover-up.

Kawangware residents have pointed to the police report’s narrative—omitting any mention of Lang’at’s identity or the nature of his relationship with Keinan—as evidence of an attempt to shield the officer from scrutiny.

The fact that Lang’at was shot seven times, rather than injured in a single warning shot as Keinan claimed, has further intensified calls for an independent investigation.

Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja has responded to the growing controversy, promising a thorough and impartial investigation into Lang’at’s death.

Speaking through National Police Service spokesperson Michael Muchiri, Kanja insisted that there would be “no room for cover-ups.” Muchiri tild the media, “Our investigators will remain professional and get to the bottom of this.”

Yet, skepticism persists, particularly in light of recent incidents involving police officers and the questionable use of their firearms.

Earlier this month, on March 9, 2025, Police Constable Limo Kipkosgey shot and killed his colleague Eric Munga at Gigiri Police Station after drinking alone at the canteen.

Days prior, a General Service Unit officer attached to South Sudan President Salva Kiir’s security detail fired on colleagues after a confrontation over marijuana use.

And in a separate case, Constable Kipkoech Tarus is under investigation for allegedly shooting his friend Raphael Kimuli Wambua, a Central Bank of Kenya security officer, after a night out.

These incidents, alongside last year’s fatal shooting of Makadara Principal Magistrate Monica Kivuti by Chief Inspector Samson Kipchirchir Kipruto, have heightened public distrust in the police force’s handling of such cases.