But those involved in the case find the delays troubling.
“This case was initiated by the DPP’s office and it was they who approached us a few years ago. They asked us to join a victim support group, which was basically set up to make sure they had witnesses for them,” Irungu Houghton, director of human rights group Amnesty International Kenya, told the BBC.
After the initial investigations, the then DPP Noordin Haji initiated a public inquiry into the death of baby Samantha. The judge found the policemen guilty.
The prosecutor subsequently ordered further investigations into other cases resulting from the August 2017 police operation and brought in independent constitutional investigators, civil society and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The investigation uncovered evidence that the DPP said pointed to “the systematic use of violence, including murder, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, against civilians, all of which constitute serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity.” humanity”.
In October 2022, the prosecutor requested that the suspects be charged under the International Crimes Act for the first time in Kenya’s history.
Among those to be charged are commanders who are believed to be responsible because of their responsibilities as senior officers – another first for Kenya.
In September 2023, a new DDP, Ranson M. Ingong, but since then there has been little to no progress in the matter.
There appears to be a “reluctance to try to prosecute this case”, says Mr Houghton.
