Eleven to testify against Kilifi cops charged with killing pupil

Eleven witnesses will testify against two Kilifi police officers charged with the brutal murder of 17-year-old Katana Kazungu.

Police constables Simeon Ayodo and Amos Kipsang’ have maintained their innocence over Kazungu's death in Tsangatsini, Kaloleni, on July 26 last year.

Kazungu was the first-born and was a Standard 7 pupil at Ndatani Primary School.

The pretrial conference will start on June 20, Malindi High Court Judge Reuben Nyakundi said on Friday.

Ayodo and Kipsang’ are out on Sh1 million bond each.

The conference has been pushed twice after defense counsel Gerald Magolo failed to show up.

The prosecution has aligned witnesses it said had credible incriminating evidence.

Kazungu was killed while pushing a stalled truck, an earlier statement recorded by rights group Muslims for Human Rights stated.

Muhuri spoke to witnesses who were at the crime scene. The rights group is acting on behalf of the family in court.

“We were told to face in the opposite direction after the shots were fired. There was a back-and-forth movement,” one youth told journalists last year.

Five youths, including Kazungu, were pushing the truck. Kazungu, who was from a funeral, helped push the vehicle in anticipation for a stipend.

The truck was transporting ballast from a nearby quarry. Police said it had been stolen and responded by shooting indiscriminately, media reports indicate.

Pathologists conducted a postmortem on July 3 at Mombasa Level 5 Teaching and Referral Hospital.

The postmortem report showed Kazungu was shot at close-range.

The bullet pierced his back, passed through one side of the heart, and broke a rib before it exited through the stomach.

At least five police officers were involved in the 6pm mission to "recover" the vehicle.

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority, however, singled out Ayodo and Kipsang’ after a seven-month intensive probe.

Ipoa also conducted a ballistics examination.

Witnesses who recorded statements with Muhuri said they remained at the scene past midnight.

Judge Nyakundi said the pretrial conference will set the base for the case. “This conference should not be missed because it is a very crucial stage for this case,” he said.

On January 12, a warrant of arrest against Ayodo and Kipsang was issued. The duo presented themselves before the court on February 12.

Then Judge Weldon Korir ordered a psychiatric test done at Malindi District Hospital. The officers remained locked at Malindi police station until February 15.

Doctors’ report showed the two are fit to stand trial.