Four Kenyan police officers were charged with crimes against humanity on Monday in connection with the death of a six-month-old baby during a crackdown on protests following the contested 2017 election, court documents and media reports revealed.
Charges against eight other officers were dropped due to insufficient evidence, a decision condemned by human rights organizations, including Amnesty Kenya. The four accused officers have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The case centers on the death of Samantha Pendo, who died in August 2017 in Kisumu after police officers fired tear gas into her home, suffocating and allegedly assaulting her, according to her mother’s testimony.
An inquest launched in November 2017 found that 12 officers should face charges over Pendo’s death, as well as the deaths of 39 other protesters who were killed during nationwide demonstrations against the election results.
Rights groups, including 30 Kenyan organizations, criticized the prosecution’s decision to drop charges against eight officers, alleging a lack of involvement from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), which had conducted the investigation into the killings.