CCTV footage showing Jeff Mwathi falling off building played in court

The court was also shown segments of footage depicting people moving in and around the apartment shortly before and after the fall.

One person, dressed in bluish clothing and a white hood, appeared to be the first to notice the body that had fallen.

The court heard that this individual is expected to testify on what he observed that morning of February 22, 2023.

A Nairobi court has viewed CCTV footage in the ongoing trial over the death of interior designer Jeff Mwathi, capturing the moment he fell from the 10th floor of an apartment building in Nairobi’s Kasarani area.

Jeff Mwathi died on February 22, 2023, at the Redwood apartment in Roysambu.

During the hearing on Thursday, Chief Inspector Timothy Bet of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) took the stand for cross-examination as several clips were played by prosecution showing events before and after Mwathi’s death.

The footage, replayed in slow motion, showed Mwathi’s body falling at 5:47hrs as indicated by the CCTV's time stamp.

In his testimony, however, the officer stated that the body hit the ground at 5:53am.

The officer narrated that the person seen falling had their hands and limbs stretched out as the body descended, describing it as a “split-sec

ond fall.”Lawyer Danstan Omari, representing Mwathi’s family, questioned whether the person believed to be a security guard raised any alarm after spotting the fall.

He also pointed out that several other people were seen passing near the scene, asking whether investigators had examined their actions or reactions. '

Omari pressed the officer to clarify whether one of the men captured at the scene — wearing what appeared to be a white T-shirt, blue shorts, a white cap, and a chain as described by the parties — had seen the body and how he reacted.The officer confirmed that the man, identified as Person of Interest Number Two in the case, appeared to have seen the body.

When pressed whether he saw any emotional response, he said the person appeared to have displayed no emotional response at the time.

“From the looks, it appears there was no reaction,” Chief Inspector Bet told the court.

Omari then suggested that the man in question was DJ Fatxo, arguing that his demeanour was inconsistent with a natural reaction at the time.

“Does his conduct show any natural reaction or emotion expected from someone who has just lost a friend?” Omari asked, drawing comparisons to emotional public reactions seen in other scenarios.

He cited the example of late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s recent arrival at the airport, where emotions were visibly expressed, to illustrate how a natural human reaction would manifest in moments of grief or shock.

Earlier clips played in court showed groups of people moving in and out of the building during the night, including the person of interest accompanied by several ladies.

The defence, led by lawyer Duncan Okatch for DJ Fatxo, maintained that his client had left the building earlier that morning and did not return, a claim the DCI officer confirmed was consistent with what appeared on the footage.

From the camera, yes, he did not come back,” the officer stated when questioned by Okatch.

Omari summed up the visual evidence, noting that the sequence of movements would be central to establishing what transpired in the hours leading up to Mwathi’s fall and whether anyone else was directly involved in his death.

Further hearing will continue on January 29, 2026.