The High Court has ordered Pangani-based police officer Rashid Ahmed, who is accused of killing two teenagers, to surrender to the police.
Justice Kanyi Kimondo issued the order after Rashid failed to appear in court physically and joined the court using a virtual platform.
Asked by the judge why he had not turned up in court to answer the charges, Rashid said that he had traveled to his rural area in Garissa County to attend to a family issue.
The court, however, ordered Rashid to surrender to Garissa DCIO's office so that he can be escorted to Mathari Mental Hospital in Nairobi for psychiatric assessment, which is a mandatory requirement for all murder suspects.
The court directed that once Rashid surrenders to authorities, the police are at liberty to grant him bail pending the court appearance.
Justice Kimondo, however, deferred the prosecution of Rashid to February 9 to enable the police to present him to answer the murder charges.
At the same time the court has ordered Rashid's lawyers led by Dunstan Omari to furnish the respondents namely the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Inspector General of Police, and Eastleigh Business Community which are listed as interested parties in the case.
Court's decision
The court further directed the case to be mentioned on February 8 for further directions.
Justice Kimondo also directed the victims to file a formal application seeking to be enjoined in the case.
The officer was expected to plead to the murder charges over the killings of the two teenagers Jamal Mohammed and Mohammed Dhair Kheri today following recommendations by the DPP to give him be prosecuted.
The court papers indicate that he killed the pair on March 31, 2017, at Amal Plaza within Eastleigh.
