Cop Duncan Ndiema charged with murder of Yassin Moyo

Police officer Duncan Ndiema has been charged with the murder of 13-year-old Yassin Moyo in Huruma in March this year.

Appearing before High Court Judge Luka Kimaru, Ndiema pleaded not guilty and will now be remanded at Capitol Hill pending the hearing of his bail application tomorrow.

The court was told that the officer had tested negative to the new coronavirus despite exhibiting coronavirus-like symptoms on June 19.

The High Court had deferred his plea taking after his lawyer said that the officer had been admitted to the Mbagathi Hospital pending the results of a coronavirus test.

The latest comes after the Director of Public Prosecutions  approved the arrest and prosecution of the police officer who reportedly shot the 13-year-old in March.

On the fateful day, Moyo had been curiously watching police patrol the streets with his mother and siblings.

A coronavirus-related curfew had just started when a stray bullet struck him in the stomach.

His father, Hussein Moyo Molte, was at a nearby friend’s place watching the news and recounted hearing gunshots moments before his daughter called to tell him:

“Yassin’s been shot, we were on the balcony, the police had a torch on us, and then they fired shots.”

Neighbors drove young Yassin Moyo to a Nairobi hospital, but he later succumbed to his injuries.

“My child was shot on the balcony at home, he wasn’t even on the street,” his father said. “I support the curfew but how the policeman handled it was very wrong.”

Kenya’s dusk-to-dawn curfew went into effect nationwide on March 27 in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus.