Court attendees get a share of loaves of bread and milk bought by the officers during court session at Kibera Law Courts, July 31, 2025. /SCREENGRABFour police officers who skipped a court session on Monday to avoid testifying against their colleague, former police officer Ahmed Rashid, were on Thursday handed an unusual punishment by a Kibera court.
The officers were ordered to buy and distribute basic items like bread, milk, soap, tissue and toothpaste to remandees and court attendees.
The officers, who had been summoned to testify in the high-profile case against Rashid — popularly known as Hessy wa Kayole—were found in contempt of court after failing to appear.
Only one out of six scheduled witnesses honoured the court summons.
One of the absent officers was later pardoned. Rashid is facing murder charges over the alleged extrajudicial killing of two suspected armed robbers on March 31, 2017, outside Amal Shopping Complex in Eastleigh, Nairobi.
The case drew widespread public interest due to his controversial policing methods.
When the four officers finally appeared before Justice Diana Kavedza, they pleaded for forgiveness.
Kavedza accepted their apology but made it clear that their actions would not go unpunished.
"That is the punishment you pay for not coming to court. Go bring one bar of soap, one tissue, and a small toothpaste," Kavedza ruled.
She had initially slapped each of them with a sentence of three months in jail or a Sh10,000 fine for contempt of court but commuted the sentence to a more symbolic form of justice—a public act of contrition benefiting those in remand.
The officers were seen distributing loaves of bread and packets of milk to remandees and court attendees inside the courtroom, drawing smiles and laughter from those present.
Justice Kavedza’s decision was greeted with applause as a rare moment of accountability and humanity within the often rigid court process.
The trial against Rashid, which has dragged on for nine years now, continues.
