This archive report was first published on 24 October 2019.
On October 22, 2019, Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji faced a storm of complaints from residents of Kisumu during a meeting at Kosawo hall in Manyatta. The residents, including the parents of six-month-old Baby Samantha Pendo, expressed their frustration over the delayed justice for victims of police brutality during the 2017 polls.
Mr. Haji addressed open forums in Manyatta and Obunga slums where police shot and beat residents during the height of protests after President Uhuru Kenyatta was re-elected in August 2017. The DPP faced complaints over the delayed justice for the parents of Baby Pendo, who was hit and killed by officers who stormed houses in Nyalenda to flush out protestors.
Eight months ago, a Kisumu court recommended the prosecution of five senior police officers over the infant’s death, but Haji’s office is yet to take any action. The parents of Stephanie Moraa, a nine-year-old girl shot dead by police in Nairobi’s Mathare estate during the same period, were also protesting delays in finding justice for their daughter.
Mr. Haji assured residents that his office needed more evidence to build a strong case, and that the file would be ready by the end of the month. He also defended the delays, saying that his office was working to ensure that those responsible for Baby Pendo’s death would face the law.
Forty-six junior officers could also be in trouble after the court declared them persons of interest in the Kisumu violence and ordered the DPP to investigate their conduct during the security operation that left the lakeside town bleeding.
Reports from the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights showed that 20 bodies were received at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital between August 8 and 25, 2017, and at least 91 victims were treated at the hospital between October 2 and 16, with 12 of them having gunshot wounds.
