A police officer accused of murdering Yassin Moyo three months ago has been released on Sh1 million cash bail on condition he does not interfere with the witnesses lined up to testify against him.
The 13-year-old was shot on the balcony of his family home in Huruma on March 27 — the first day of the 7pm curfew to contain the coronavirus.
Justice Luka Kimaru said Duncan Ndiema will have to provide two contacts who are close relatives and not set foot near Huruma police station.
The state had opposed his release on bail arguing that the family of the deceased had received threats and intimidation from persons suspected to be the agents and proxies of the accused.
The prosecution told the court that if Ndiema was released on bail pending trial before the prosecution secured the witnesses' evidence there was a likelihood of him intimidating them.
At the time of the incident and his subsequent arrest the tension in the community was high with a lot of animosity towards the police. Ndiema was in uniform when he allegedly committed the crime. He also had an Israeli pistol serial number 44338354 loaded with 10 rounds of ammunition.
In an affidavit sworn by an investigator from Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa), the bullet head recovered from the body of Yassin Moyo matched the pistol carried by Ndiema.
Benedict Otieno said a postmortem report revealed the manner of the child's death was premeditated.
Edited by Henry Makori