Chief Inspector Timothy Bett, a CCTV expert and key witness in the ongoing inquest into the death of interior designer Jeff Mwathi, has presented his evidence before the court.
Appearing before Milimani Principal Magistrate Rose Ndombi on Thursday, October 23, 2025, Inspector Bett submitted several CCTV recordings showing the final moments of the deceased alongside his companions.
According to the footage, Mwathi, Mugithi artist Lawrence Njuguna, popularly known as DJ Fatxo, and three women were captured at the lift area on the ground floor of an apartment building at 3:32:41 a.m. on February 22, 2023.
The five, who appeared to be in high spirits, entered the lift at 3:33:02 a.m. and proceeded to the 10th floor, where DJ Fatxo’s house is located.
Inspector Bett testified that the same cameras later captured DJ Fatxo and the three women leaving the 10th floor at 4:48:21 a.m. Footage shown to the court also revealed their car exiting the apartment compound at 5:02 a.m.
The evidence further indicated that approximately one hour later, a person believed to be Mwathi was captured falling from the building.
“The camera at the parking area captured someone falling to the ground floor at 05:47:18,” said Inspector Bett.
The court viewed slowed-down footage showing the deceased falling with his arms and legs outstretched, a sequence the officer described as a “split-second fall.”
In another clip presented to the court, DJ Fatxo is seen at 9:05 a.m., walking towards the scene where Jeff’s body lay, while talking on his phone. The body had already been covered with cartons. The footage showed that the musician kept a distance and left the scene moments later.
During cross-examination, the Mwathi family’s lawyer, Danstan Omari, questioned the witness on whether the DJ’s demeanor suggested that he had just seen the body of someone he knew.
“This man is said to have fallen from his house naturally; how should he react on seeing his friend’s body? Does his conduct reflect that of someone who knew the deceased?” Omari posed.
Inspector Bett replied, “From his physical demeanor, he did not react.”
Defense lawyer Okatch, representing DJ Fatxo, maintained that his client had not returned to the apartment after leaving earlier, before Mwathi’s fall.
Inspector Bett confirmed that the CCTV footage did not capture the artist again until 9:05 a.m., when he appeared near the scene. He, however, noted that there was a time discrepancy in the CCTV recordings but could not explain the cause.
The inquest is scheduled to continue on January 29, 2026
