Former Central Sub-County Police Commander Doris Mugambi has distanced herself from any operational orders linked to the protests that occurred on June 20, 2024.

Testifying in court, Mugambi said that on the material day, no preparations were made for demonstrations as they had held normal briefings.

She told the court that a sub-county police commander does not supervise junior police officers directly, adding that such officers are under the command of the Officer Commanding Station (OCS).

“I did not deploy any officers. It is the OCS who does and who reports to me,” she said.

Mugambi further stated that no operation order was issued on that day since the protests were spontaneous and unplanned.

The witness told the court that the OCS is responsible for initiating operational orders when an incident occurs within their area.

She insisted that she did not give any orders and that all OCS from various stations under her command, including KICC Police Station, Parliament Police Station, Kamukunji Police Station, Central Police Station and Ngara police station, report directly to her.

The former OCPD also said she received reports of fatalities that day from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

“The DCI does not report to me on matters of investigations,” Mugambi clarified.

She added that at the divisional level, there is no armoury and that the Nairobi region did not have operational orders on the said date, although she could not confirm whether other regions did.

Mugambi explained that for an operational order to be issued, prior notification and information from superior offices are required.

“We did normal briefings for routine operations. I do not handle deployment and cannot answer deployment-related matters,” she stated.

Regarding the protests, she told the court that no special meetings were held in preparation, as the briefings were part of routine police work.

“No single station was issued with live ammunition for the protests,” she said.

However, Mugambi confirmed that a firearm was stolen during the protests, but added that many legal and private firearms are present within the CBD, making it necessary to investigate private firearm holders in connection with the fatal shooting.

The court also heard that AlfaMine, an undercover anti-mugging team present in every station, may be issued with firearms at the discretion of the respective OCS.

She emphasised that a police headquarters cannot command a junior officer at the station level, nor can a police officer operate under a different station’s jurisdiction.

“Every station commander earns command by merit,” Mugambi said.

She told the court that in the police service, informal communication is not allowed and denied knowledge of any spent bullet being recovered.

“There was no command from me, no discussion on how the police were to respond, nor any discussions with my seniors on the incident,” she said.

Mugambi maintained that officers are trained to exercise personal responsibility based on the situation at hand.

She also insisted that there was no prior intelligence indicating that demonstrations would take place that day.

“I know that the OCS commands AlfaMine. It is not an independent unit in the country,” she said.

Mugambi reiterated that operational orders can only be issued based on information from the OCS, but none was received.

She concluded that, according to the reports she received, no police officer discharged live ammunition and no bullet was reported fired.

The court granted an application to summon Corporal Isaiah Murangiri for the purposes of clarification.

 The hearing continues from July 16 to July 23, 2025, when further directions will be given.