Hearing in murder case against ex-cop Rashid begins as key witnesses testify

The grandfather of one of the young men who were shot dead in Eastleigh on March 31, 2017, has narrated to the court how he got wind of the news and of his ordeal in the days to follow.

Ramadan Karani took to the witness stand on Thursday during the first day of the hearing where ex-cop Ahmed Rashid is charged with the murders of the men.

Karani told Kibera High Court Judge Diana Kavedza that he was watching the news on that day when he saw a shooting incident.

He said upon looking at the image of the young man who was reported to have been shot dead, he realised it was his grandchild Jamal Mohamed, who worked as a casual worker at Eastleigh.

The court heard that he was wearing a white Kanzu and red shoes, and the footage on TV showed the shooting by a man in civilian clothes.

Karani, who lives in Tana River called his nephew in Nairobi seeking clarity on the matter.

Three days later, he would find himself in Nairobi alongside his sister Khadija.

In their journey to seek justice for the deceased, they would visit the CID police headquarters where they would be told that there was a body lying at City Mortuary.

Separately, the family and police drove to the mortuary, where Karani would identify his grandson.

He told the court that the man had bullet wounds on his head, saying even though he did not count them, they were between six and seven.

He said he could only see Jamal's face and that the rest of him was covered.

Following identification, the court heard that a post-mortem was conducted, and several bullets removed from the body.

After the autopsy, the family was given leave to bury their dead.

During cross-examination, Rashid's counsel Danstan Omari questioned Jamal's innocence, who despite not being a police officer, is seen in a photo wearing a combat jacket.

Karani however said the same was probably borrowed from a friend and was no indication that his grandson was involved in any lawbreaking activities.

He urged the court to consider the pain the family has endured after the loss of the grandchild.

The grandfather was the second witness in the case and the only one whom the media and public were allowed to sit through.

During the first witness's testimony, the media and public were barred from covering after Justice Kavedza allowed the application of the state to have the session held in-camera.

Following the close of the day's hearing, the court directed that to avoid any delays in future sessions, the parties will be receiving notifications three days from the hearing dates.

This is to confirm if they are ready to proceed and will be required to state the number of witnesses and their names.

However, in the case that the state needs any of its witnesses protected, it is to refrain from mentioning their names.

The court set the next hearing dates for June 12 and June 13, from 9 am.