This archive report was first published on 14 August 2019.
On August 14, 2019, a Mombasa court made headlines when it acquitted five suspects accused of killing a police officer in 2015.
The suspects, Mwachande Mohammed, Mohammed Salim, Kassim Ahmed, Mohammed Kassim, and Ali Omar, were charged with the murder of Simon Lochode and stealing G3 rifles and ammunition worth Ksh.75,000.
However, the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove the suspects' involvement in the robbery and murder. The court, led by Justice Edigah Kagoni, established that the prosecution's case relied heavily on the gun found at the scene, but they failed to link the suspects to the crime.
One of the suspects, Mohammed Salim, had even surrendered himself at the Malindi police station after learning he was wanted by the police. The other three suspects were arrested in Bumala en route to Busia.
The five suspects had been in custody for over three years after the court denied them bail.
