Debate Over DPP Charging Eastleigh Cop In Viral Video
ODPP had interrogated IPOA's report and found that there was adequate evidence to charge the officer with murder.
Marvin Chege 
The decision to place murder charges on Corporal Ahmed Rashid, the police officer captured on a viral video shooting at two men in the Eastleigh suburb of Nairobi, has drawn mixed reactions across the country.
A report from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) corroborated preliminary findings by the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA).
ODPP had interrogated IPOA's report and found that there was adequate evidence to charge the officer with murder.
"The Independent Policing Oversight Authority concluded the investigation into the deaths of Mr Jamal Mohamed and Mr Mohamed Dahir Kheri following a shooting which occurred at Eastleigh, Nairobi County on March 31, 2017, and established that the fatalities were occasioned by police action," IPOA Chairperson Anne Makori said in a statement.
"Guided by Section 29(a) of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority Act, the findings were forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions with the recommendation to charge Corporal Ahmed Rashid, with murder."
IPOA had reviewed evidence from CCTV footage, as well as ballistic investigations and postmortem examinations, and established that the deaths of the two men were occasioned by the activities of police officers. It then undertook investigations into the matter that went viral both locally and internationally.
However, the police watchdog was unable to ascertain the identity of another man captured on camera during the shootings.
Consequently, IPOA went to the High Court to secure a summon against Ahmed which will require him to appear before the court for pleading on December 8, 2022.
During the time of the incident, Rashid led the feared 'Pangani Six' unit, an alleged killer police squad operating in Eastleigh and Mathare slums linked to a number of extrajudicial police killings in the areas.
In the amateur video shot from a balcony in Eastleigh, a police officer in plain clothes could be seen raining bullets at a man lying on the road. The officer, upon running out of ammunition, signalled his companion who in turn gave him his firearm.
He continued shooting at the already lying man before proceeding to the next man lying a few metres away. The case drew angry reactions from human rights defenders and groups who faulted the officer for using excessive force in the line of duty, as part of the extra-judicial killings to combat the increasing crime rate.
However, some Kenyans questioned the move to charge the officer with murder, arguing that this would revive chaos in areas that had calm restored.
To be specific, Ahmed was loved by residents of the Eastleigh and Mathare slums as well as Mlango Kubwa and Pangani for restoring law and order that allowed them to carry out their businesses without fear of insecurity.
“The issue of the court wanting Ahmed Rashid to be charged with murder is totally unacceptable. Ahmed Rashid brought sanity in Pangani, Mlango kubwa and Eastleigh areas charging him is promoting insecurity and giving gangs unwanted confidence, this is a terribly bad move,” Abdiweli Duale tweeted.
“Before Ahmed Rashid came to Eastleigh the 'Superpower' gang group used to collect revenues in Eastleigh, stop Arresting him,” Hajjy Mtrue weighed in.
“Ahmed Rashid shot and killed an unarmed suspect who was already in custody in full view of cameras and you want him to get away with it. That suspect deserved a fair court hearing as written in the constitution. The police ain't vigilantes, we all should be equal under the law,” Abe Lincoln argued, however.
Inspector General of the National Police Service Japhet Koome, who was the then Nairobi County Police Commander, noted that one of the dead men was wanted for killing two police officers in Nairobi.
There have been recent calls by police to use force on notorious criminals responsible for the spike in crime rates in Nairobi, with President William Ruto instructing police officers not to hesitate in using force against the security threats posed by gangs and bandits across the country.
President William Ruto (front center) with other leaders and Police Commanders at State House on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. /PCS
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