Yassin Moyo's murder trial starts four years after teen's fatal shooting

The hearing of the murder case against police officer Dancun Ndiema who is accused of killing Yassin Moyo in 2020 finally began at the High Court in Nairobi on Tuesday.

The start of the trial proceedings came more than four years after Yassin was fatally shot from their balcony in Mathare on March 30, 2020.

Ake Hassan was the first of the 19 state witnesses to take to the stand, telling court that she was with Yassin, his mother Hadija Hussein and her children at the balcony when the boy was shot.

Hassan is a neighbour of the Moyo's and live in the same building within Kiamaiko in Huruma, Nairobi. The area is in Kiamaiko ward of Mathare constituency.

Hassan told the court she is a housewife.

The apartment has two floors. The upper one was not yet occupied at the time. Hussein Moyo's house is on the first floor. Hussein is Yassin's father.

It is on the balcony on the first floor where Hassan was standing with Yassin, Yassin's mother and Hassan's two children when they saw police officers.

"I could tell they were police officers because some of them were in police uniform. One of them pointed at us on the balcony with something like a torch that was producing green light," Hassan told trial judge Justice Lillian Mutende.

She said the officer who was pointing at them then moved away from the group and shortly after, they heard a gunshot.

"We all went down and I heard Yassin say; 'Mum I've been hit'," the witness said.

All this while, Ndiema, the accused, sat in the dock pensively gazing at the witness rendering her testimony.

Prosecutor Sarah Ogweno asked Hassan whether the police officer who shot at them was the accused in the dock.

"I can't tell because it was in the evening and dusk had fell. The officer was also not very close to us," she said.

Defence lawyer Danstan Omari, however, challenged Hassan that she was not telling court the whole truth. Omari claimed there had been chaos outside and that police officers were involved in an exchange of fire with thugs in the area.

Initially, Hassan had said they were in the house and that it was Yassin who had informed them there was noise outside.

"I put it to you that there were several gunshots fired before Yassin was shot. That the police were firing at thugs and that anybody seen at the balcony at that time could have been mistaken for a threat to the security of the officers," Omari said.

Hassan, however, denied the claim, insisting there was only one gunshot and the next thing they saw was a wound and blood from Yassin who had then fallen down.

Four witnesses were scheduled to testify on Monday but only Hassan could give her testimony owing to a packed cause list that took much of the judge's time.

It had appeared the case would be adjourned again given Justice Mutende had to first attend a judiciary meeting forcing her court to start at about noon.

With more than 20 matters set for directions, the hearing started at about 4pm and went up to 5.50pm.

It was at this time that the judge asked the other witnesses to bear with the court as it could not sit beyond that time.

"I would wish to hear your testimonies but we have run out of time. But because we have tomorrow and Thursday for further hearing, let us proceed tomorrow (Wednesday) from 11.45am," the judge said as the hearing adjourned.

Yassin Moyo, 13, was a Standard 8 pupil at Ndururuno Primary School in Huruma when he was killed in 2020 by a gunshot believed to have been fired by a police officer enforcing the Covid-19 curfew rules.

Ndiema who was accused of the murder was charged. He denied the offence and was released on a Sh1 million cash bail.