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Reading: E848/23 Nyeri – R. vs. Stephen Gichohi Ibuka, Daniel Murigu Wahome 52 kg ivory – Acquittal
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Seej Africa > Blog > 2023 > E848/23 Nyeri – R. vs. Stephen Gichohi Ibuka, Daniel Murigu Wahome 52 kg ivory – Acquittal
2023ConcludedWildlife Crime Courtroom Watch

E848/23 Nyeri – R. vs. Stephen Gichohi Ibuka, Daniel Murigu Wahome 52 kg ivory – Acquittal

SEEJ-AFRICA
Last updated: April 27, 2025 5:05 pm
SEEJ-AFRICA Published November 5, 2023
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Today’s Court Update 
 
#39. December 9th, 2024 (Judgement): On this date, Hon. Senior Principal Magistrate C.K. Obara acquitted both accused.
 
SEEJ-AFRICA was not in attendance so cannot give the court’s reason for the acquittal. It was noted, however, through testimony of KWS witnesses, that the crime scene photos were presented by the officer who processed them, not the individual who took the photos. There was also some ambiguity in relation to the the identity of the accused that the KWS undercover buyer was actually communicating with.  
 
The trial took 39 sittings over an 18 month period. Two different magistrates presided.

Case Overview

On May 30th, 2023, a joint Police – KWS operation netted Stephen Gichohi Ibuka and Daniel Murigu Wahome with 10 pieces of elephant ivory weighing 52 kg in Nyeri town. They were arrested as they tried to sell the ivory to an under cover buyer. The accused were arraigned in Nyeri law court the following day.

 
Presiding Magistrate and Court:
 
Hon. C.K. Obara – Senior Principal Magistrate Court 8
Previously – Hon. Matthias Okuche – Senior Resident Magistrate
 
 
State Counsel: 
Nelly Waweru
Leonard Killinyet
 
Advocates for the Accused: 
Muhoho Gichumu – for both
 
Accused:
  1. Stephen Gichohi Ibuka,
  2. Daniel Murigu Wahome
 
Charges: 
  1. Dealing in wildlife trophies of endangered species contrary to Section 92 (2) WCMA
  2. Being in possession of wildlife trophies of endangered species contrary to Section 92(4) WCMA.
 
 
Date of Arrest:
 
2023-05- 30
Date of Arraignment:
 
2023-05-31
 
Location of Arrest:
Nyeri area
Contraband Seized: 
52 kg

Proceedings

 
#32. September 4th, 2024 (Defence Hearing): Court set another defence hearing date of September 25th.
 
****************************
 
#27. July 1st, 2024 (Hearing): Court set another hearing date of July 15th.
 
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#26. June 12th, 2024 (Hearing): Court set another hearing date of June 26th, 2024.  SEEJ-AFRICA not in attendance
Note: Prior to June 26th, the hearing date was brought forward to June 20th and then another hearing date set for July 1st.
 
****************************
#25. June 3rd, 2024 (Hearing): Court set another hearing date of June 12th, 2024.  SEEJ-AFRICA not in attendance.
 
****************************
 
#24. May 22nd, 2024 (Hearing): Court set another hearing date of June 3rd, 2024. SEEJ-AFRICA not in attendance.
 
****************************
 
#23. May 8th, 2024 (Hearing): Since SEEJ-AFRICA’s last attendance, a new magistrate, Hon. Senior Principal Magistrate C. K. Obara,  has been assigned and is now presiding over this matter. All relevant persons were present in court.  All exhibits were also present in court. 
 
Today was the continuation of the testimony from KWS witness G.H., specifically his cross-examination. 
 
Mr. Gichumu asked whether the witness knew for sure if he was speaking to.the accused person when communicating about the sale of the ivory. Gichumu asked G.H. to provide evidence of such but he did not have any. G.H. did provide the number that he called to get in touch with the accused persons so as to plan where they would meet to sell the ivory.
 
G.H. was also asked how many people he was communicating with and he replied one of them.  Counsel referred him to his statement and he had indicated that he was communicating with the both of them.  G.H. clarified by saying that they had been in touch with the accused persons from 3 to 4 days and the one he was talking with was consulting the other accused person before giving an answer to any issue or query. G.H. confirmed that it was the accused persons he arrested together with the 9 pieces of tusks that weighed 52 kg. He had agreed with the accused persons to sell the ivory at KES 100,000.
 
Next hearing date is May 22nd, 2024. Three witnesses remain to testify.
 
****************************
 
#22. April 18th, 2024 (Mention): Routine prison mention, next hearing date May 8th.
 
#21. April 4th, 2024 (Mention): Routine prison mention.  Next hearing set for May 8th.
 
#20. March 21st, 2024 (Mention): Routine prison mention
 
#19. March 7th, 2024 (Hearing): SEEJ-AFRICA not in attendance. 
 
#18. February 21st, 2024 (Mention): Routine prison mention. Hearing set for March 7th.
 
 
#17. February 7th, 2024 (Mention): The case of Stephen Gichohi Ibuka and Daniel Murigu Wahome did not continue today.  Senior Resident Magistrate Mathias Okuche was not sitting so the case appeared before Nyeri  Resident Magistrate Stanley Imoleit. The two accused were not present and despite the file being placed aside by 3:00 pm, they had not appeared.  A previous hearing date of March 7th, 2024 still stands and the matter will be mentioned on February 21st, 2024.
 
By Purity Mwangi
 
*************************************
 
#16. January 22nd, 2024 (Hearing):
By: Purity Mwangi.
 
Today’s hearing before Nyeri Senior Resident Magistrate Matthias Okuche failed to continue as the prosecution was not ready. Prosecutor Nelly Waweru told the court that she did not have the statement of the first accused and requested time to adjust to defence counsel now representing both accused.  At least one of the two prosecution witnesses due to testify was in court.
 
Lawyer Muhoho Gichumu for the second accused had told the court that he will be appearing for both accused person hence wanted to be served with all the statements for the first accused.
 
The prosecution was given until February 7th, 2024 to serve the documents and the hearing was adjourned to March 7th, 2024. 
 
The first accused have been in custody since the commencement of the case.
 
*************************************
 
#15. January 10th, 2024 (Hearing):
BY: Purity Mwangi.
 
The case of Stephen Gichohi Ibuka and Daniel Murigu continued on Wednesday where the prosecution produced one witness.
 
The case was brought before Nyeri Senior Principal Magistrate Matthias Okuche.
 
Veronica Osogo, a government analyst working at National Museum of Kenya, testified that she received exhibits from the KWS IO for further analysis.
 
“On June 9, 2023 nine tusks were brought to me for analysis which were from wild animals. They were marked exhibit NPS one to NPS nine. I analyzed the size, shape, weight, and measurements of each exhibit,” the analysis testified.
 
Ms. Osogo told the court that according to morphological appearance some tusks were cut but they had common horizontal lines on the surface that were unique and only found in an elephant.
 
She testified that through a microscope she compared different materials available to the museum including elephant teeth.
 
” I could tell they were from three matured elephant individuals, the eight pieces pair but one piece did not pair,” the government analyst testified.
 
She told the court that she wrote a report on June 9, 2023 and submitted to the investigation officer.
 
The nine tusks were produced in court .
 
Upon cross examination the first accused questioned the witness as to how she could tell the tusks were not fake.  She answered that she has worked for 15 years and had expertise from her duty to research for the purpose of preservation.
 
Lawyer of the second accused, Muhoho Gichumu, asked the witness to confirm when she received the exhibit and she confirmed on June 9, 2023.
 
Additionally she confirmed that according to the record, the accused were arrested on May 30, 2023.
 
The case was adjourned until January 22, 2024 when the forensic and cyber crime officers will testify.
 
*************************************
 
#14. December 14th, 2023 (Hearing): Today’s scheduled hearing did not take place. The prosecutor, Leonard Killinyet, told the court that the witnesses expected to testify today were engaged at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) courts* on another ivory case. Nyeri Senior Principal Magistrate Matthias Okuche has adjourned the hearing to January 10, 2024.
 
* SEEJ-AFRICA was attending JKIA court on this date for the lone ivory case on the cause list and there were no KWS officers present.
 
*************************************
 
#13. November 27th, 2023 (Hearing):
                    by Purity Mwangi
 
The case of Stephen Gichohi Ibuka, and Daniel Murigu Wahome went on hearing today where two arresting officers testified before Nyeri Senior Principal Magistrate Matthias Okuche.  The accused are charged with dealing and being in possession of 9 pieces of ivory weighing 52 kg without a legal permit.
 
The first witness was a KWS officer attached with the Aberdare National Park testified that on May 30, 2023, he was on duty in his office when he received a phone call from his boss and called him to his office.
 
“It was around 10.30am in the morning when my boss called me into his office, I found him with a KWS officer from the main office in Nairobi. My boss informed me there were two suspects who were in possession elephant tusks looking for a buyer at King’ong’o area along Nyeri -Mathari road and told me to prepare for an arresting mission.”
 
He told the court that when they left the station there were four officers including the one from Nairobi who was the driver and undercover buyer and he knew the destination well. Upon arriving at Nyeri- King’ong’o junction he, his boss and one other were dropped off while the undercover officer drove to meet the sellers.  They followed the vehicle from a distance.
 
“From a distance of 500 meters, I saw two men near a highland water plant carrying a white sack the driver (KWS undercover) stopped and the two men got in the car with the luggage. The undercover officer turned on flashlights to signal us and we surrounded the vehicle and introduced ourselves to the suspects as KWS officers. By then the suspects were seated on the back seat together with luggage,” the KWS witness told the court.
 
He testified that they ordered the suspects to get out of the vehicle and demanded to know about the luggage. The two suspects identified as Stephen Gichohi and Daniel Murigu could not explain and after the search, the officer said they recovered the nine elephant tasks in a white sack and digital weighing machine.
 
“We handcuffed the suspects and took them to our Aberdare station office in Mweiga for further interrogation.  Later around 4.00pm they were taken to Nyeri police station,” he testified.
 
During cross-examination, the second accused lawyer, Muhoho Gichimu, asked the witness if the accused were the owner of the luggage and how they could have carried such a heavy load.  He also questioned why the officers took so long to interrogate and whether they forced the accused to be taken finger prints instead of signing.  The witness denied forcing the accused to take fingerprints.
 
Prosecutor Nelly Waweru on cross-examination asked the witness how the accused carried the luggage and how they got into the vehicle and also questioned why it took so long before taking the suspect to Nyeri police station.
 
The second witness was also a KWS officer from Aberdare National Park. He testified that on May 30, 2023, at 10.30am he was on duty when his boss called him in his office.
 
“When I went to the office I  found my boss with a visitor from KWS in Nairobi. My boss informed me there were two suspects in possession of elephant tasks at King’ong’o area along Nyeri Mathari road and I was requested to join them for arrest mission,” he testified.
 
He told the court that there were four in the vehicle and upon reaching Kingongo they were dropped off by the KWS Nairobi officer  who was to be the undercover “buyer”. He proceeded toward Mathari since he knew the suspects.
 
The witness explained to the court that this was a set-up mission to arrest the suspect through an undercover officer who would pretend to be the potential buyer and the officers to give him a backup and arrest the suspects and elephant tusks.
 
”At a 200 meter distance I saw two men carrying a white thing looking like a heavy load, when they got near our car the driver made a turn toward the opposite direction and the two men entered the vehicle and the luggage.  The driver gave a signal using flashlights and we surrounded the vehicle,” he testified.
 
He told the court that they introduced themselves to the suspects and demanded to do a search of the vehicle and they recovered nine elephant tasks and a digital weighing machine when their boss came and sealed the scene of the crime and took photos.
 
The witness said the suspects were inside the vehicle with the tusks when they were taken to the Aberdare station office in Mweiga for further interrogation later around 4.00pm they were taken to Nyeri police station.
 
Upon cross-examination by the second accused lawyer, Muhoho Gichumu, on how the tusks got to the scene he said there was a suspected motorbike but told the court that his boss who was investigating the case would explain. Lawyer Gichimu asked why they detained the suspects for all those hours  and the witness said they were interrogating them.
 
Prosecutor Nelly Waweru asked about the motorcycle owner but the officer said his duty was to arrest the suspects.
 
The seized ivory tusks were exhibits before the court.
 
Two more witnesses including a government analyst from Kenya National Museum are expected to testify.  The case was adjourned till December 14, 2023.
 

*************************************

#12. November 16th, 2023 (Hearing):

All relevant persons were present today including the accused Ibuka in custody (not represented) and the second accused Wahome who is out on bail and has counsel. The 52 kg of ivory tusks were present for the court. The prosecution had two witnesses present but only one testified.

 
The KWS witness presented photographs of the exhibits and was able to identify the elephant tusks in a white sack according to the photographs taken. The witness also presented a exhibit certificate dated May 31st, 2023.
 
The second witness was unable to testify, reportedly held up in another court. The hearing has been adjourned to November 27th, 2023.
 
*************************************
 

#11. October 26th, 2023 (Hearing): Did not attend. The hearing is adjourned to November 16th, 2023.

 
*************************************
 
#10. October 11th, 2023 (Hearing): The hearing did not occur. Both accused present. The prosecution witnesses were indisposed. Matter adjourned to October 26th,2023.
 
*************************************
 
#9. September 11th, 2023 (Hearing): This hearing did not occur.  Today’s scheduled witnesses were not available as they were engaged elsewhere. The matter was adjourned to October 11th, 2023 for hearing. (SEEJ’s first appearance)
 
*************************************
 
#1. May 31st, 2023 (Plea): Both accused were arraigned and pleaded not guilty.
 
 

Two Suspects Arrested in Possession of 52 kg of Elephant Tusks in Nyeri.

 
Two suspects arrested in possession of 52 Kgs of elephant tusks in Nyeri  
By citizen  Published on:  May 31, 2023 12:18 (EAT)
 
Police officers on Tuesday arrested two male suspects in possession of 52 Kgs of Elephant ivory in Nyeri.
 
The suspects Gichohi, 45 and Wahome, 50, will be arraigned in Court on May 31, 2023 Wednesday for possession of wildlife trophy Contrary to Section 93(4) of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act of 2013……..
         
By John Kalii

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