Officers deny witnessing Rashid shoot two youths

Five police officers who once served alongside former Pangani officer Ahmed Rashid, accused of killing two youths in Eastleigh in 2017, testified at the Kibera Law Courts yesterday.

The officers told Judge Diana Kavedza that as members of the Special Police Unit for Intelligence and Vigilance (SPIV) — an undercover squad tasked with infiltrating and dismantling criminal gangs — they did not witness Rashid, who is facing murder charges, shoot the two young men alleged to have been linked to crime in the area.

The officers who appeared in court were Chief Inspector Abdul Rahman Ndegwa, who at the time was the duty officer at Pangani Police Station, Owen Oketch Ausi, Gideon Kibet Ruto, Robert Rono, and Wilfred Omboga. 

READ ALSO: IPOA says former Pangani police officer Ahmed Rashid to face murder charges

Rashid is being represented by lawyers led by Danstan Omari and Stanley Kinyanjui.

Omboga told the court that on March 30 2017, he was on patrol duty from 6pm to 6am. The following day, while at his house around 2pm, the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) called him with reports of thugs in Eastleigh.

“I left with my colleagues to Eastleigh First Avenue and found the road closed, with a large crowd of people gathered. We began dispersing them, and there were many other police officers at the scene too,” he said.

He added that both the OCS and Rashid were present, and that he himself was armed with two weapons — an AK-47 rifle and a pistol.

“I fired four shots in the air to control the crowd. Once the road was cleared, we found two youths, said to be members of the Gaza gang, lying on the ground, already gunned down,” Omboga testified.

He told the court that he did not see Rashid shoot or kill the pair, though he emphasised that the Gaza gang was notorious in Eastleigh, having previously killed two police officers and terrorised residents.

Rono, another witness, said that on the same day he was on duty with three colleagues, all in plain clothes but armed. He admitted he had not returned his firearm to the armoury as required by procedure, but argued that so long as the weapon was not misused, “there was nothing wrong”.

While acknowledging Rashid as his senior, Rono denied that his firearm had been used in the killings.

Corporal Ruto, now stationed in Wajir County, told the court that SPIV had about 50 officers at the time.
The prosecution has lined up more than 50 witnesses in the case, with 10 having testified so far. The hearing continues today.