Plea taking for 12 police officers in Baby Pendo case pushed to January 29 as judge transferred

The High Court has postponed the plea-taking for 12 police officers accused of killing Baby Samantha Pendo seven years ago to January 29.

The case, originally scheduled for today (Wednesday), was delayed due to the transfer of Justice Lilian Mutende who was handling it.

The officers will now face Justice Margaret Muigai on January 29 to enter their pleas.

Baby Pendo died after she was reportedly hit on the head by police who stormed her parents' house in Nyalenda slums, Kisumu in 2017.

She was six months old when she was killed on August 12, 2017 during post-election violence.

Earlier attempts by the officers accused of the killing to challenge the jurisdiction of the Kenyan court to try them for the crimes against humanity borrowed from the International Criminal Court (ICC) failed.

They had filed petitions challenging their prosecution but lost.

This then paved the way for their imminent trial for offences that guarantee lengthy or even lifetime incarceration upon conviction.

The senior cops include former Kisumu county police commander Titus Yoma, Nyanza regional commander for the General Service Unit (GSU) Christopher Mutune and John Masha who was the Kisumu Central Administration Police Service (AP) commander.

Others are Linah Kogey who was in charge of the Nyalenda Police Post, and inspectors of police Benjamin Koima and Benjamin Lorema who were alternately in charge of a GSU platoon deployed at the Kachok Roundabout among others.

They are accused of failure to exercise control of their juniors to repress unlawful activities including the murder of Baby Pendo on August 12, 2017, around 1 am.

More to follow….