Four Kenyan police officers charged over baby's killing as others freed
Eight other officers who had originally also been accused alongside the four have had the charges against them dropped by the public prosecutor, sparking criticism.
The case relates to baby Samatha Pendo, who was fatally hit in 2017 as police were deployed to quell violence linked to post-election protests in the western city of Kisumu.
On Monday, the four officers who are still accused denied multiple charges including murder as a crime against humanity.
They also pleaded not guilty to other charges of torture and rape committed against civilians.
But a number of human rights groups, including Amnesty International, say the charge sheet "omits senior officers who held overall command responsibility during the operations that saw the deaths, rape and injuries of no less than 60 Kenyans".
They have also expressed concern over the prosecutors' office move to name the victims and witnesses which it said could expose them to harm and reprisals.
Baby Pendo - as she became known - died after being hit on the head, which caused a national outrage and became a symbol of the police brutality during the 2017 unrest.
The public prosecutor at the time initiated a public inquest.
After the inquest found the police culpable, the prosecutor ordered further investigations into other cases resulting from the police operation.
But none of the accused had until now entered a plea amid repeated delays in court, which sparked calls for justice and accountability.
Baby Pendo's mum, Lensa Achieng, has told the BBC that she is hopeful for justice and is pleased that "we have a case now".
She said the journey had not been easy "but as the family of Baby Pendo at least we are going somewhere... they are taking a bold step to take the case to another level.
"It's just our prayer for us to find justice for our daughter so that whatever happened to us does not happen to another parent."
Rights groups have continued to criticise the delays, blaming numerous attempts to defer or stall court proceedings.
They say the charges were amended without the involvement of the investigating agency, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa).
Ipoa has said it does not know the rationale used by the prosecutor.
There has been little movement since a new prosecutor took over in 2023, and this year the head of Amnesty Kenya, Irungu Houghton, told the BBC that there seemed to be "an unwillingness to try to prosecute this case".
Amnesty and other rights groups are now calling on the judiciary to ensure the cases against the four officers are not delayed.
Additional reporting by Gladys Kigo
Pressure mounts to probe Kenya police and army after BBC exposé
BBC identifies security forces who shot Kenya anti-tax protesters
Batons, tear gas, live fire - Kenyans face police brutality
WATCH: Inside the world of Kenya's 'killer cop'
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Africa Daily
Focus on Africa
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
2 minutes ago
- Business Insider
South African politician fires gunshots to shield himself and colleagues from an attack
A dramatic attack on three South African lawmakers got violent on Tuesday, when Ian Cameron, a senior Member of Parliament, opened fire to defend himself and his colleagues after their vehicle was attacked in Philippi. Three South African lawmakers were attacked in Philippi in a violent ambush. Ian Cameron, an MP, fired his licensed firearm in self-defense, injuring one assailant. Two attackers, aged 16 and 18, were arrested, with police seeking a third suspect. Cameron, who leads parliament's police committee, was returning from an oversight visit to a police school with colleagues Lisa Schickerling and Nicholas Gotsell when their car was targeted. According to authorities, intruders threw bricks at the car, smashing the glass and injuring Cameron and Gotsell. 'The first brick came through the window,' on the driver's side, Cameron told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika, speaking with visible facial injuries. As seen on the BBC, the South African parliamentary member revealed that several of his teeth had been broken in the attack. While struggling to fend off the assailants, he discharged his licensed firearm, injuring one of the attackers. "I realised that if we don't do something, then this can go really bad. So I did my best to act in self-defence with my firearm and then we sped off to the closest secure location," Ian added. Police reported that two individuals, ages 16 and 18, were detained on attempted murder and hijacking charges. One was detained at a hospital while seeking treatment for gunshot wounds, while the other was caught on a farm the next morning. Authorities said they are still looking for a third suspect. Gotsell, who was hit in the head during the incident, was briefly hospitalised but has since been released. He revealed that the actions of his colleague were brazen, as Cameron "acted with such bravery." Schickerling escaped without serious injury. The Democratic Alliance (DA), South Africa's second-largest political party and a crucial partner in the coalition government, denounced the incident, calling it fresh proof of the country's increasing crime issue. This awful event demonstrates how out of control crime has grown in South Africa, according to a statement by the party.
Business Insider
3 hours ago
- Business Insider
Uganda denies pact with the United States concerning its deportation scheme
A top Ugandan official has denied rumors that the nation has agreed to accept illegal immigrants deported from the United States, disputing assertions that Kampala is part of Washington's larger effort to redirect migrants to third countries. Ugandan officials denied approval of an agreement to accept U.S. deportees. Reports suggest that broader U.S. efforts are underway to redirect migrants to third countries. Minister Okello Oryem emphasizes Uganda's infrastructure limitations to accommodate deportees. The statement came on Wednesday, after CBS News reported that Uganda and Honduras had reached deportation agreements with the United States authorities. According to the report, Honduras was slated to receive hundreds of deported individuals from Spanish-speaking nations, while Uganda agreed to accept an unspecified number of African and Asian migrants who had applied for asylum on the US-Mexico border. As per the reported agreement, Uganda agreed to welcome deported migrants as long as they do not have criminal records. The deals were tied to President Donald Trump's immigration policy, which aims to deport millions of illegal immigrants from the United States. However, Uganda has denied the report. "To the best of my knowledge, we have not reached such an agreement," Okello Oryem, state minister for foreign affairs, told Reuters by text message. "We do not have the facilities and infrastructure to accommodate such illegal immigrants in Uganda." The CBS story quoted confidential US government papers indicating that the Trump administration was broadening the scope of deportations, including plans to transfer asylum seekers and convicted criminals to third nations such as South Sudan and Eswatini. Similar incident between America and Eswatini This is hardly the first time an African country has been caught in the crossfire of Washington's deportation campaign. In July, Eswatini denied the United States' claim that deported ex-convicts who could not return to their own countries would be placed in the kingdom. Instead, Eswatini stated that it was collaborating with the United States and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to guarantee that deportees were finally returned to their respective countries. Earlier reports said that a US deportation flight carrying immigrants from Yemen, Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, and Jamaica had arrived in Eswatini. The move is part of a policy reintroduced by the US Department of Homeland Security that enables migrants to be deported to third-party nations, even if those countries are not their home countries. The contentious policy gained traction in June when the United States Supreme Court decided in favor of the Trump administration, giving it expanded authority to deport migrants without allowing them to demonstrate that they suffer persecution or danger in their home countries. The United States hailed the judgment as a significant triumph in its fight against illegal immigration. However, critics contend that the approach violates international asylum rules and puts vulnerable migrants at risk by transferring them to nations with no linkages or support systems.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
'Chilling' political interference of BBC must stop, says former news boss
The BBC should be protected from "political interference", the corporation's former director of news has said, after the culture secretary appeared to call for the resignation of director-general Tim Davie earlier this year. Lisa Nandy said ministers expected "accountability at the highest levels" following the iPlayer broadcast of Bob Vylan's highly controversial Glastonbury set in June. James Harding, who previously edited the Times and now runs Tortoise Media, told the Edinburgh TV Festival the BBC should remain independent of government, and said Nandy's close involvement in the Bob Vylan scandal was "chilling". In response, a DCMS spokesperson said: "The culture secretary has been repeatedly clear that the role of the director general is a matter for the BBC board. Any suggestion to the contrary is untrue." In his keynote MacTaggart Lecture, Harding said the perception of a "political presence looming over the BBC" is a problem and that the broadcaster needs to be "beyond the reach of politicians". Several staff were asked to step back from their duties after the live streaming of Bob Vylan's Glastonbury set, where the punk duo led chants of "death, death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]" and made other derogatory comments. Nandy's subsequent call for accountability at the top of the corporation for the decision not to pull the live stream of the performance was subsequently interpreted as calling for Davie's resignation. In his speech, Harding criticised "political interference", or the perception of it, in relation to the BBC, saying it was something "we've got too accustomed to". "The culture secretary's office insists she did not explicitly ask Samir Shah, the BBC chair, to deliver up the director general's resignation... but people inside the BBC were left in no doubt that was the message," Harding said. "Whatever your view of the hate speech vs freedom of speech issues, an overbearing government minister doesn't help anyone," he said. "The hiring and firing of [the director general] should not be the job of a politician." A DCMS spokesperson said: "The BBC has itself acknowledged a number of serious failings in recent months, including the broadcasting of the Bob Vylan set at Glastonbury. It is entirely right that the culture secretary raised these issues with the BBC leadership on behalf of licence fee payers. "The government remains committed to the very important principle that the BBC is operationally and editorially independent. We are focused on securing a sustainable future for the BBC and helping strengthen public trust in the Corporation as part of the upcoming Charter Review." Read about previous MacTaggart Lectures: 2018: Michaela Coel reveals she was sexually assaulted 2019: Dorothy Byrne says media have right to call politicians 'liars' 2020: David Olusoga: 'TV industry left me crushed' 2021: TV has 'utterly failed' disabled people, writer Jack Thorne says 2022: Maitlis says BBC rebuke over Cummings remarks made no sense 2023: Louis Theroux: Anxious TV bosses should stop playing it safe 2024: James Graham calls for more working-class people in TV The BBC has been criticised for a number of high-profile scandals in recent months, such as breaching its own editorial guidelines on accuracy in relation to a documentary about Gaza. Elsewhere, Match of the Day host Gary Lineker left the BBC after sharing an Instagram reel about Zionism that featured an illustration of a rat, considered an antisemitic slur. Harding said the BBC was "not institutionally antisemitic", and that it was "untrue and unhelpful to say it is", adding that it was "much better to correct the mistakes and address the judgement calls that have been wrong". He acknowledged the BBC had "made mistakes... and it can be much too slow to correct them". Referring to a debate early in the conflict about the BBC's use of language, Harding said he thought it the BBC was "wrong not to use the word 'terrorist' for the attacks of October 7th; journalists shouldn't censor words, but use them accurately". Harding did not comment on the events surrounding Lineker's resignation, but did say he felt football pundits generally "should be able to have views as a citizen, as well as a job as a BBC broadcaster". Harding also used his speech to argue the BBC has a crucial role to play in defending truth in an age of artificial intelligence (AI) and declining trust in traditional media. "A shared understanding of what's true is disappearing before our eyes," he said. "More people are paranoid, prone to conspiracy theories. Large numbers of people are giving up on the idea of facts." He continued: "Politics and technology are doing untold damage to trust in the world. "On the one hand, politicians are trying to control or cancel the media, particularly news. On the other, AI is beginning to lay waste to the economics of information, while also remaking the job of storytellers." In an age where "we're more divided, more certain we're right", Harding argued, the BBC should be protected and championed as the "most important source of information in this country". He said the corporation was "the best defence of truth and trust against the lies of dictators and demagogues". The BBC's royal charter will be up for renewal in 2027, and it has not yet been decided whether the licence fee will be replaced by a new funding system. Harding reflected: "We're at the beginning of a new information age, if we want it to be truly creative, innovative and competitive globally, we can't short-change the BBC again. "We need, surely, to be thinking about a mix of funding that gets closer to doubling its resources," Harding said. "Because obviously, given the cost of living, that's not going to happen just through the licence fee. "Over five years, nearly two-and-half million households have dropped out of paying the licence fee, so this needs fixing. It's expensive and unfair on those who pay. If we believe in the universality of the BBC, we need to return to the principle in some form or other that every household pays." Harding also suggested news and current affairs programmes could be opened up to independent producers in an effort to make the BBC more of a "people's platform" and allow more varied thinking while maintaining standards of truth and accuracy. YouTube now second only to BBC as media destination Social media now main source of news in US, research suggests BBC senior staff told to 'step back' from duties following row Lineker to leave BBC sooner than planned after antisemitism row UK broadcasters 'need urgent boost from YouTube' BBC boss vows to tackle Britain's 'crisis of trust'
