• Police constables William Chirchir and Godfrey Kirui are on trial over the death of Janet Waiyaki in May 2018.
• Judge Mutuku said she was putting them on their defence because they were at the scene when the fatal shooting took place.
Two police constables charged with killing a businesswoman at City Park two years ago have a case to answer.
Police constables William Chirchir and Godfrey Kirui are on trial over the death of Janet Waiyaki.
She was fatally shot on the morning of May 20, 2018, allegedly by the two police officers while she was in a car with her nephew, Benard Chege.
Justice Stella Mutuku put the two officers on their defence, saying they were at the scene where the killing took place.
The prosecution closed its case on Wednesday and the judge ruled the two had a case to answer.
She said she will deliver a full ruling later and set the defence hearing for January 11 next year.
One of the officers who testified was scene-of-crime officer constable Balesa.
Balesa testified that on the day of the death he was called by OCS Parklands to visit the scene of the shooting.
He told the court that the victim's vehicle was facing the left side of the park. Balesa took photos of the scene and produced them.
Two pictures showed a spare tyre, another showed the driver's seat with blood stains and a bottle of soda.
Another picture showed what could be gunshot holes in the car; another showed a woman's boots on the mat of the passenger seat. Another photo showed a deflated rear tyre.
Balesa said he was unable to tell if the vehicle was shot at, based on the openings, adding only an expert can tell the court if they were gunshot entries.
“Openings in the car could be due to so many things so [I] can't be specific that it was a bullet hole,” Balesa said.
Two weeks ago, chief inspector Moses Shikuku, then OCS Parklands, told the court police were deployed in the area following a terror alert.
“At about 10 am I was called by the duty officer who informed me there had been an incident within City Park area. I immediately proceeded to City Park and found officers who had come from a different area to help us,” Shikuku testified.
The officer, who is currently in charge of traffic in Kasarani subcounty, said he found the injured persons inside in the car.
“When I arrived, I saw a black Fielder. The officers who briefed me when I arrived told me that they were patrolling near the market area and a member of the public told them there was a suspicious vehicle,” Shikuku told the court.
Further, Shikuku said the officers informed him that when they approached the vehicle, they realised it had tinted windows and it was driven off when they tried to have the occupants come out.
(Edited by V. Graham)