Four Kenyan police officers were accused of killing babies when others were released
About eight years ago, four Kenyan police officers were charged with murdering a six-month-old baby.
Eight other officers who were initially charged with four people raised criticisms against prosecutors.
The case is linked to baby Samatha Pendo, who attacked deadly in 2017 as police were deployed to quell violence related to post-election protests in the western city of Kisumu.
Four officers still charged on Monday denied multiple charges, including murder as a crime.
They also pleaded not guilty to other crimes of torture and rape committed against civilians.
However, many human rights groups, including Amnesty International, said: “The senior officials responsible for overall order responsibility in actions that suffer death, rape and harm no less than 60 Kenyans”.
They also raised concerns about the prosecutor’s office to name victims and witnesses, which could cause them to be hurt and retaliated.
Baby Pendo – known to die after being beaten in the head, which caused national anger and became a symbol of police brutality during the turmoil of 2017.
The prosecutor initiated a public investigation at the time.
After the investigation found that the police were convicted, the prosecutor ordered further investigation into other cases arising from the police action.
But so far, none of the defendants have repeatedly delayed in court, triggering calls for justice and accountability.
Pendo's mom, Lensa Achieng, told the BBC she was hopeful for justice and was glad that “we have a case now”.
The journey was not easy, she said. “But, because Baby Pendo's family is going at least somewhere… they are taking a bold step to take the case to another level.
“It’s just our prayer for our daughter to find justice so that nothing happens to us will happen to another parent.”
Rights groups continue to criticize delays, blamed numerous attempts to delay or stall court lawsuits.
They said there was no involvement of the investigative agency, the Independent Police Supervisory Authority (IPOA), to modify the allegations.
The IPOA said it did not know the reason for the prosecutor to use it.
There has been little action since a new prosecutor took over in 2023, and this year Kenya’s chairman Irungu Houghton told the BBC that the BBC seems “not seemingly willing to prosecute the case.”
Amnesty and other rights groups are now calling on the judiciary to ensure that cases against four officials are not delayed.
Other reports by Gladys Kigo
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