Police skip court in trial of 'killer' Pangani officer

Pangani Police Station in Nairobi. [File, Standard] Six police officers who were due to testify against former Pangani Police Station officer Ahmed Rashid now risk imprisonment or being personally fined for failing to appear in court. Abdulhaman Ndegwa, Owen Oketch, Wilfred Omboga, Gideon Ruto and Robert Rono had been lined up as prosecution witnesses by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) on Monday. However, prosecutor Christine Timoi informed the court that Rono had arrived at the courthouse before proceedings began and told her that his colleagues had refused to testify. He then disappeared. Justice Diana Kavedza subsequently ordered the Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, to ensure the officers appear in court on July 31 2025, either personally or through an officer he designates. The judge fined each of the six officers Sh10,000, failure to which they will serve three months in jail. She added that the court would consider lifting the orders if the officers submitted written explanations deemed satisfactory. "We will give them a benefit of doubt before we order their arrest. The six should be escorted by Inspector General of Police or an officer he will designate to explain why they have refused to attend court," said Justice Kavedza. Rashid is accused of murdering two teenagers - Jamal Mohammed and Mohammed Dahir Kheri - in a controversial incident that occurred in March 31, 2017 opposite Amal Plaza in Eastleigh, Nairobi. Timoi told the court that Rono had not responded to subsequent calls or text messages from the investigating officer from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa). "He approached me and told me that his colleagues had refused to come to court. He then left and did not return. He is not responding to calls or messages," Timoi said. In opposition to the adjournment, Rashid's lawyer Danstan Omari argued that the State had enough time to prepare its witness but asked the court not to issue a warrant of arrest. "Owing to the nature of their job, they might have been deployed for an assignment," argued Omari. This comes as Fredrick Gichuki, who was incharge of the police Integrated Command and Control Centre at the time, claimed that there was a deployment of officers in civilian clothings after an intelligence report that there were 10 armed Gaza gang members who had boarded a matatu for Eastleigh. Although the officer was to produce CCTV footage and explain the happenings, he alleged that the information sent to police bosses was that the gang members were armed and dangerous. He, however, was hard pressed to explain if the two who were killed in broad daylight were armed. Gichuki alleged that Jamal and Dahir appeared to have wrapped something in a kanzu and a red jacket respectively. Asked about use of excessive force, he claimed that it appeared that the person seen in the video chasing after the one holding a red jacket had fired a warning shot. He said that police are allowed to aim and shoot a person's leg if he or she defies arrest or flees in order to demobilise. According to him, Gaza had become a menace, robbing business people and killing, among others, police officers. Asked by Rashid's lawyer Martina Swiga what happened to the gang, he claimed it was eliminated and all the officers who were involved, promoted. But he could not tell whether Dahir and Jamal were part of the gang or not. It is alleged that Rashid led a group of six police officers who had been tasked with fighting crime in Mathare, Mlango Kubwa, Pangani and Eastleigh areas of Nairobi.

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