Court orders mental checks for officers charged with killing Baby Pendo
Some of the 12 police officers arraigned at Milimani High Court over the killing of Baby Pendo at Kondele Kisumu in 2017.
Twelve senior police officers linked to the death of Samantha Pendo alias Baby Pendo and other atrocities during the 2017 post-election chaos in Kisumu have been ordered by court to present themselves at Mathari Mental Hospital for psychiatric assessment.
Justice Kanyi Kimondo directed the officers to undergo the checks before answering to murder charges on April 5, 2023.
The judge issued the order after the prosecutors informed the court that the officers are yet to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, which is a mandatory procedure in murder trials. Hence, they could not answer the murder charge.
The officers include a Commissioner of Police, Senior Superintendent of Police, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Chief Inspector of Police, six Inspector of police a Senior Sergeant and a Sergeant.
The assessment is to confirm whether they are fit to stand trial.
Besides the killing of Baby Pendo, other charges awaiting them include torture, maiming and sexual crimes against unarmed public members.
Six-month-old Samantha Pendo who died of head injuries sustained during a police raid at their family home in Nyalenda slums in Kisumu in August 2017.
Some of the officers have since left the National Police Service while others are still serving.
The officers Inspector Volker Edambo, Chief Inspector James Rono, Police Constable Josephat Boke Sensera, Linah Kogey (Inspector and Post Commander Nyalenda), Mohamed Guyo (Chief Inspector) and John Masha (GSU Inspector and platoon commander). Others are Benjamin Koima (Retired Administration Police Senior Superintendent), Benjamin Loreman (Kenya Prisons Service) and Cyprine Wankio (Chief Inspector).
Also in the list is Titus Mutune (Senior Superintendent, General Service Unit in charge of 30 platoons) and Titus Yoma (former Commissioner of Police and Retired County Commander).
The Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU), Law Society of Kenya Kisumu Chapter, Independent Police Oversight Authority, the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (Fida), the International Justice Mission and Utu Wetu organizations are providing witness and victims advice in the pending trial.
The court also extended the warrant of arrest issued against police office Mohammed Baa Amin, Amin (Station Commander Kondele), who is yet to be arrested.
The officers are accused of the murder of Baby Samantha Pendo and 39 other victims of extrajudicial killings.
The atrocities were committed in Kisumu between August 11 and 15, 2017, just after the General Election, in Nyalenda, Nyamasaria, Kondele and Obunga, where six-month-old Baby Pendo was bludgeoned to death. A post-mortem had revealed that the baby suffered an open cracked scalp with deep head injuries in the attack.
All the 11 officers are out on a personal bond of Sh200,000 pending the court trial.
