Ten police officers from the elite General Service Unit who fired 40 bullets to quell a protest at Masimba, Kajiado county, killing four people will be charged with murder.
The officers are constables Kasim Nunow, Hoseah Chikara, Mohammed Adan, Wambua Kilonzo, Wesley Kipkorir, Boaz Mogire, John Mwangi and Desmond Musyoka.
Others are Inspector of Police Cornelio Nabwera and corporal Zakayo Kipterio.
They are accused of shooting and killing the four on June 2 during a protest over increased attacks by wild animals.
An investigation by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority has found the officers culpable of causing the deaths during the clash that also left six other villagers with serious wounds.
The incident happened when the officers attached to the GSU opened fire at the demonstrators on the Nairobi–Mombasa highway.
Those who died were Duncan Kanari, Letemir Topoika Yionti, Denis Matheka Mutua and Stanley Ntidu Tereu.
The victims were part of demonstrators who had thronged the busy highway to protest invasion of their farms by elephants during which a teacher died after he was trampled by the marauding jumbos.
IPOA took up the matter on own motion after the incident was widely reported in the media.
On Friday, nine of the officers were arrested and held at Kibra police station, Nairobi, pending the arraignment.
This follows a directive by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions after reviewing the IPOA investigation file.
“The totality of evidence on record suggests that the GSU officers were culpable for the offence of murder contrary to section 203 as read with 204 of the Penal Code. Additionally, the officers are culpable for causing grievous harm contrary to section 234 of the penal code,” the ODPP said.
The letter to the authority added: “We concur with the authority that the use of force by the GSU officers against the demonstrators was not only unlawful but was also unjustified. Therefore, we direct that the officers be charged accordingly.”
The investigation established that GSU officers attached to the M Company had escorted a cargo belonging to De La Rue company from Mombasa to Nairobi on June 1.
On the fateful day, the officers were travelling back to their base in Mombasa when they encountered the demonstrators.
The investigation further revealed that the officers, who were travelling in two Land Cruisers, fired a total of 40 rounds of ammunition, before making through barricades and drove off to Mombasa. Some 17 spent cartridges were collocated at the scene.
Postmortem examinations showed that each of the fatality was caused by a single bullet wound. A bullet head and bullet fragments were retrieved from the bodies during the autopsy.
Then President Uhuru Kenyatta sent a delegation to the families to condole them.
