15 witnesses to testify as murder trial against Ex-Pangani officer Ahmed Rashid resumes at Kibera Law Courts » Capital News
NAIROBI, Kenya Aug 18 – The Office of Director of Public Prosecution has lined up over 15 witnesses to testify in a murder trial involving former Pangani officer Ahmed RashidThe hearing is set to run from August 18 to 22, will feature over 15 prosecution witnesses.
Among them are former members of the Pangani Six – officers who worked closely with Rashid – and the then-Officer Commanding Station (OCS) of Pangani Police Station.
Rashid, who once led the covert Pangani Six unit, is accused of murdering two teenagers namely Jamal Mohammed and Mohammed Dhair Kheri in March 2017.
Their testimonies are expected to shed light on the operations of the covert police unit and the events that led to the fatal shooting.
The two were shot dead in broad daylight outside Amal Plaza in Eastleigh, Nairobi, in an incident that was captured on video and widely circulated online.
The graphic footage showed Rashid firing multiple shots at the young men as they lay on the ground, sparking public outrage and branding him the ‘killer cop.’
Human rights groups have since cited the case as one of the most glaring examples of extrajudicial killings in Kenya.
Prosecutors argue that Rashid unlawfully executed the teenagers, who were suspected of engaging in petty crime, rather than arresting them as required by law.
They maintain that the killings violated both the Constitution and established police procedures.
Rashid has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder, insisting that he was carrying out his duty as a police officer tasked with protecting members of the public from armed and dangerous criminals.
His defense team has consistently argued that the victims were part of a notorious criminal gang terrorizing residents of Eastleigh and Pangani, and that his actions were justified under the circumstances.
The case has reignited a national conversation on police accountability, the use of lethal force, and the culture of impunity that has long dogged law enforcement agencies in Kenya.
Rights organizations, including Amnesty International and the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU), have closely monitored the proceedings, describing the trial as a “litmus test” for justice in cases of police killings.
Kenya has in recent years faced mounting criticism over extrajudicial executions, with watchdogs estimating that hundreds of young men in low-income neighbourhoods have been killed by police under the guise of fighting crime.
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