Officer put to task at baby Pendo inquest, requests for advocate

Kisumu Central Sub-County Administration Police Commander Benjamin Koima testifies in an inquest seeking to establish the killers of Baby Samantha Pendo at Kisumu High Court on June 18, 2018. PHOTO | ONDARI OGEGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The court also summoned a police officer named Mohammed Ali who deputised Inspector Linah Kosgei of Nyalenda Police Post in commanding the area during the period of the clashes to appear before it in the next hearing slated for July 9.
  • Ms Kogei had earlier told the court that it was Mr Ali who commanded the about 17 officers who conducted raids in Nyalenda on the night the infant was assaulted.

A senior police officer in Kisumu had a rough time during an inquest on the killing of baby Samantha Pendo explaining where officers under him were during the time the six-month old child was assaulted.

The deployment order that the officer produced in court as earlier ordered indicated that between five to six Administration Police (AP) officers were deployed in every sector of Nyalenda during the period the assault was committed.

While Kisumu Central sub-county AP Commandant Benjamin Koima confirmed to the court that APs were among those engaging demonstrators in the streets of Kisumu, he disowned the operation order which showed that some officers under him were part of the team.

OPERATION ORDER

On Monday, Lawyer Charles Onyango of the Kenya National Human Rights Commission and Richard Onsongo of Law Society of Kenya put the senior officer to task to tell the court where exactly his officers whose names appear in the operation order were assigned to work if not Nyalenda, as indicated in the document.

Some of the AP officers whose names were appearing in the operation order and which Mr Koima denied were deployed in the area are Mr Erick Chirchir and Cleophas Ochieng’.

In his argument before Senior Resident Magistrate Beryl Omollo, Mr Onyango said that with names of the two officers missing in the deployment order, “it then tells that they were part of the joint force that were quelling riots in Nyalenda as indicated in the operation order.”

“What other document do you have that specify the exact place where your officers were assigned? Because their names are here in the operation order and not the deployment order, it then shows that they were involved in the operation,” Mr Onyango argued.

ADJOURN HEARING

" I have one operation order that clearly shows where my officers were on August 8, 2017,” said Mr Koima.

 Lady Justice Omollo was forced to briefly adjourn the hearing to give Mr Koima time to bring before the court the operation order which he said would show where his officers were.

But when he returned, Mr Koima made an application to be allowed to have a lawyer represent him in relation to the operation order he had just availed.

Ms Omollo allowed his application as the prosecution did not oppose.

“The witness is allowed to get a counsel of his choice as a right entitled in the Kenyan Constitution but at his own cost,” ruled the magistrate.

NEXT HEARING

The court also summoned a police officer named Mohammed Ali who deputised Inspector Linah Kosgei of Nyalenda Police Post in commanding the area during the period of the clashes to appear before it in the next hearing slated for July 9.

Ms Kogei had earlier told the court that it was Mr Ali who commanded the about 17 officers who conducted raids in Nyalenda on the night the infant was assaulted, as she together with her five officers guarded the police post.

She surprised the court when she said that she did not know Mr Ali insisting that she had never met him before for the 28 years she has been in the police service.