The inquest into the death of 29-year-old protester Rex Masai took a dramatic turn on Monday after a senior firearms examiner revealed that the bullet fragment recovered from the scene did not match any of the pistols submitted by police for testing.

Testifying before trial magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo, Senior Superintendent Alex Mdindi Mwandawiro from the DCI headquarters told the court that the damaged bullet jacket submitted by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) was part of a rifle cartridge, not a pistol round.

“The fragment bore right-hand twist engravings and a large engraved area, but its core was missing,” Mwandawiro testified. He said the fragment was consistent with live rifle ammunition used in weapons such as the Russian AK-1, Israeli Galil, or Kenya’s locally produced Chalbi rifle.

He ruled out the pistols submitted from DCI Central Police Station, stating they were of a different calibre and could not have discharged the fatal shot.

However, Mwandawiro admitted under cross-examination that his findings were inconclusive, as none of the rifles capable of firing the bullet had been presented for testing.

In a further twist, he revealed that although he had been supplied with three pistols for ballistic analysis, one was missing.

Most notably, Mwandawiro’s findings contradict earlier testimony that police did not use live ammunition during the maandamano protests where Masai was shot.

“My examination revealed that the damaged jacket was part of a rifled bullet, not rubber,” he told the court, suggesting that the fatal shot came from a live round.

The revelations have heightened scrutiny over the police response during the protests and raised fresh questions about accountability in Masai’s killing.