Eastleigh

Grandfather testifies against cop Ahmed Rashid in Eastleigh shooting trial

Sergeant Ahmed Rashid in the dock at the Kibera High Court on December 6, 2023. (Joseph Ndunda).

By Joseph Ndunda | Thursday, March 14, 2024

Sergeant Ahmed Rashid, the infamous undercover cop who led the Starehe SPIV team, is charged with the murders of the two men.

The grandfather of one of the youthful men shot dead along Yusuf Haji Avenue in Eastleigh on March 31, 2017, on Thursday narrated to the Kibera High Court how he got details of the cruel murder.

Ramadan Karani was the second witness to testify in the case on Thursday.

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Sergeant Ahmed Rashid, the infamous undercover cop who led the Starehe SPIV team, is charged with the murders of the two men. The SPIV team is a lock-up team in the police always tasked with dealing with identified hardcore criminals.

Ramadan told Lady Justice Diana Mochache that he was watching the news on the day when he saw a shooting incident. He said that he realised that one of the young men shot dead was his grandchild, Jamal Mohamed. He was a casual worker in Eastleigh.

Ramadan described what Mohamed wore that day, including a white veil, while being shot by a man in civilian clothes, as was captured in the video.

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

Three days later, Ramadan travelled to Nairobi with a relative. They visited the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters, where they were informed that there was a body lying at the City Mortuary.

The family and police drove separately to the mortuary, where Ramadan identified his grandson.

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

He said he could only see Mohamed's face and that the other body parts were covered.

After he identified him, a post-mortem was conducted, and several bullets were removed from the body. The family was allowed to bury Mohamed after the autopsy.

During a cross-examination by Sgt. Rashid's lawyer, Danstan Omari, Ramadan said his grandson could have borrowed the jungle combat jacket he is pictured wearing from a friend.

Omari had asked how he considered his grandson an innocent person despite pictures showing him in clothes only allowed for security officers, but Ramadan insisted that his grandson was not involved in any criminal activities.

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

During the hearing, Justice Mochache allowed an application by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to have a protected witness in the case testify on camera.

The hearings of the case will continue on June 12 and 13.