Five police officers have been fined and risk serving jail time after failing to appear in court to testify in a high-profile murder case involving fellow officer Ahmed Rashid.
The officers were each fined Ksh10,000 or given the alternative of serving three months in prison after they ignored court orders to give testimony.
The ruling was made during a hearing at the High Court in Kibera, where Rashid, a police officer based in Pangani, is on trial for the alleged shooting and killing of two young men in Eastleigh back in 2017.
Out of the six officers summoned to testify in court, only one showed up while the remaining five failed to appear, prompting the judge to issue the penalties.
Prosecutor Christine Timoi told the court that one of the summoned officers came to the courthouse earlier in the day but soon left after informing her that his fellow officers had decided not to testify. The officer then disappeared from the premises without participating in the proceedings.
Justice Diana Kavedza, who is overseeing the case, directed the Inspector General of Police to ensure that all five absent officers are brought to court physically on July 31 for further proceedings.
During the court session, the prosecution played video footage from the National Police Service’s Integrated Communication, Command and Control Centre (IC3).
The video, which first circulated widely in March 2017, showed the moment when the two victims—Jamal Mohamed and Mohamed Dahir Kheri—were fatally shot. The footage caused widespread public outrage and sparked intense debate over the use of force by the police.
The case has drawn mixed reactions. While human rights organizations have pushed for justice for the victims, some Eastleigh residents and business owners have defended Officer Rashid.
They claim he brought much-needed security to the area at a time when gangs like the notorious “Super Power” were causing chaos.
“In the past, Eastleigh was nearly impossible to live in,” a representative of the Eastleigh Business District Association said in 2022. “It was Officer Rashid’s efforts that helped restore peace. Gangs that used to terrorize us disappeared because of his work.”
Despite community support for Rashid, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) conducted investigations and concluded that the deaths resulted from unlawful police action.
Based on these findings, they recommended that Rashid be charged with murder.
On April 17, 2023, Rashid was officially charged with two counts of murder after undergoing a medical assessment confirming that he was fit to stand trial. He entered a plea of not guilty and was released on a Ksh200,000 cash bail as the case proceeds in court.
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