Eastleigh residents now want IPOA, DPP to drop murder charges against Ahmed Rashid

The business community, which has a membership of 24,000 people, has stated that it will fight to ensure that the police officer is released.

According to EBC leader Omar Ahmed, the police officer facing murder charges in the 2017 killing of two suspected thugs acted within the law.

“Rashid acted within his rights and within the law. We oppose the charges. We shall stand by him,” Omar told Citizen TV.

Hundreds of Eastleigh residents demonstrated outside the Milimani Law Courts on Wednesday, demanding that the officer's murder charges be dropped.

Protesters holding signs reading "Free Rashid" and "Police Life Matters" claimed that the IPOA appears to value criminals' lives more than police officers' lives.

According to Dan Brighton, secretary general of the Kenya University Students Organisation (KUSO), over 4.6 million students in the country support the embattled police officer.

“Anyone supporting charges against Rashid is a thief or intends to be a thief,” a told Citizen TV at Milimani Court.

The prosecution of the police officer, according to religious leaders in Eastleigh, will undermine police confidence in their work.

“Serikali iwache kusumbua Rashid. Alituletea usalama. Akichukuliwa hatua inamaanisha polisi wataohopa kufanya kazi yao,”

The protests outside the Milimani Law Courts were not without drama, with Eastleigh women leaders threatening to undress and stage demonstrations demanding his release.

“Rashid ametusaidia Eastleigh. Siku zile Rashid hayuko field tumehangaika. Tunataka Rashid arudishwe kazi ama tutatoa nguo tuandamane,” a protester said.

 According to the officer's legal counsel, Danstan Omari, Ahmed was summoned to appear in court over a social media clip from 2019.

According to the lawyer, the IPOA appears to have based the case on the social media clip.

“We are challenging the decision to rely on that clip as evidence,” Omari said.

“Have they authenticated that video or it's just photoshop? Who's the maker of that video, has he been interrogated and recorded q statement? Was there an identification parade to ascertain that Rashid is the man seen shooting the victims in that clip? Rashid has never been summoned to record a statement,”

According to Cliff Ombeta, a criminal lawyer who also represents the accused officer, the IPOA's use of a video clip as evidence violates the Evidence Act.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International which is representing civils societies in the matter denied claims that the IPOA and Civil Societies are against the Somali Community.

“We are essentially on the side of criminal justice. There's a reason why courts established a higher standard of proof. The question I want to ask is if 3 presidents have not executed a person int the last 3 days, why do we allow a police officer to do that?,”