Father breaks down as he narrates death of son by police officers

The father of a 17-year old boy allegedly killed by police officers in Kaloleni Sub County of Kilifi County broke down and wept as he testified against the officers at a Malindi court Friday.
Kazungu Fondo, the father of slain Katana Kazungu could not control his tears as he narrated how his son left home immediately after school to go and assist in pushing a vehicle that had been stuck in the mud, never to return. His son was a pupil at Ndatani Primary School.
The two officers, Simon Oyoo and Amos Kiptoo are being tried at the High Court in Malindi for the alleged murder of Katana on June 26, 2018 at Tsangatsini Village of Kaloleni Sub County.
Mr. Kazungu told Malindi Resident Judge Reuben Nyakundi that his son arrived from school on the fateful day but was asked by his compatriots to accompany them to help push out a vehicle that had been stuck in the mud following a downpour.
“His friends came and asked him to help the lorry driver get his vehicle out of the mud and that the driver had promised to pay them for their services,” Mr. Kazungu narrated. “My son did not return that evening and even the following morning, and we became anxious.”
He said when he visited the place where the vehicle had been stuck the previous day; he was told by some people there that some gun shots had been heard the previous night.
Confused, the parent said he called the area chief, who told him that his son had been arrested by police and was being held at Mariakani police station.
“When I reached the station, the Officer Commanding Police Station (OCS) told me to go home and return the previous day, but he did not tell me the whereabouts of my son,” he said.
“The following morning, the OCS gave me a letter to take to the Coast General Hospital, and that is where I found that my son had been killed and the body was lying at the hospital’s mortuary,” he said amid sobs.
Three of Katana’s friends Saidi Kahindi Kitsao, Sulubu Kahindi Kitsao and Ndoro Joto Mbale narrated how the police officers ambushed them, as they attempted to get the vehicle out of the mud using spades, jembes, and pangas.
They said the way the officers approached them made them confuse them for bandits as they shouted at them and started shooting without warning.
“We were busy trying to get the vehicle out of the mud when I heard people walking towards us. Before we could see them, the people started shouting, ‘Lie down,’ ‘kill them’ before firing two shots,” Saidi told the court.
He said Sulubu ran into the nearby bush but he lay down flat on the ground. He did not immediately know the fate of Katana.
“It was dark but I recognized the people shouting and firing shots as police officers, especially when they handcuffed the lorry driver who was in the company of a woman and a child,” he said.
He said a police van later arrived but they were ordered not to see what the officers were doing until the officers left in the vehicle.
“I did not know at that time that my friend was dead, but I learnt that from the area chief and nyumba kumi ambassadors who said they had received the information from the police station,” he said.
Saidi’s testimony was corroborated by Sulubu and Ndoro, who said the manner in which the officers approached them made them confuse them for bandits.
They said the officers attempted to conceal the murder by preventing them from witnessing as they (officers) loaded their friend’s body onto a police van that arrived minutes later.
By Emmanuel Masha