•Haji revealed that the delay in this matter was caused by the complexity of the offences, investigations, and vulnerability of witnesses and victims.
Image: FILE
DPP Noordin Haji has directed the suspects involved in Baby Pendo’s death to be charged.
In a statement on Friday, Haji said he is satisfied that there is evidence to support the charges.
“With a realistic prospect of conviction and that it is in the public interest to charge the suspected officers with Murder, rape and torture as a crime against Humanity,” he said.
However, the identities of the suspects have not been disclosed to ensure that the victims as well as witnesses of the aforementioned crimes are protected, Haji said.
He added that all suspects are innocent until proven guilty.
Haji revealed that the delay in this matter was caused by the complexity of the offences, investigations and the vulnerability of witnesses and victims.
The ODPP was supported by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights through its partnership with government institutions to advance accountability for serious human rights violations.
As a result, Haji states that the investigations established that the police officers may have been responsible for the unlawful killing of Baby Pendo among other serious human rights violations.
“The violations include raiding homes of innocent unarmed civilians and committing various atrocities as part of a systematic and widespread attack against the civilian population in the said areas,” he said.
During investigations, Haji disclosed that between August 11th to August 15, the attacks were planned, coordinated and not random.
Baby Pendo became the symbol of police brutality in the August 2017 post-election chaos.
An inquest into the death indicted five police commanders for overseeing brutality and, specifically, for the bludgeoning to death of the infant.
The file was then forwarded to the DPP's office.
The incident took place on August 11, 2017, as Baby Pendo's parents, Lencer Achieng Sege and her husband Joseph Oloo Sege Abanja, hid with her in their house at Kilo Junction in Nyalenda.
Outside, police battled protesters in Kisumu town's streets following the controversial August 8, 2017, presidential election.