By Humphrey Malalo
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Two Kenyan police officers were charged on Thursday with murder after they allegedly shot dead two people in the eastern county of Garissa last month, according to a charge sheet seen by Reuters.
International campaigners have raised concerns about police behaviour in Kenya, including during a lockdown instituted earlier this year to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.
Rights group Amnesty International said Kenyan police had killed at least 100 people in 2020, with 21 related to COVID-19 lockdown infractions such as curfew or mask violations.
The national police service said last month that two officers had been arrested “over a shooting incident at Soko Ng’ombe market within Garissa Township” and that the inspector general had ordered an investigation.
The two officers pleaded not guilty when charged with murder on Thursday.
“Adan Salat and Abdrahman Samow on the 25th of July 2020 at Soko Ng’ombe area of Garissa Township in Garissa…jointly murdered Aden Madhobe and Mudhidin Mudhow,” the charge sheet read.
The two officers were remanded in custody until Sept. 3 pending a hearing for their bail application. Kenya’s chief prosecutor Noordin Haji ordered that the pair be transferred to the capital Nairobi for their safety.
(Reporting by Humphrey Malalo; editing by Omar Mohammed and Hugh Lawson)
