On Monday, a Kenyan police officer accused of the cold-blooded murder of two teenagers in 2017 entered a plea of not guilty to charges of murder. This case has become symbolic of the issue of extrajudicial killings in Kenya.
The incident, which took place on March 31, 2017, was captured on video before being shared on various social media platforms. The footage depicted Ahmed Rashid, who was not in uniform at the time, shooting two young individuals who were lying on the ground in the Eastleigh district. The video quickly went viral, leading to the policeman being dubbed the “killer cop”.
In November 2022, the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) recommended legal action against Ahmed Rashid after it conducted an investigation and found that the deaths “were caused by police action.
Ahmed Rashid denied the charges, telling a Nairobi court that he was a law-abiding police officer who was only doing his duty and the court granted him bail in return for 200,000 shillings (about €1,350).