The long-awaited murder trial of former Pangani police officer Ahmed Rashid has hit another procedural delay. The High Court was forced to push proceedings to allow the court to structure the final phase of the state's prosecution in the Tob Cohen murder trial. Presiding High Court Judge Diana Rachel Kavedza-Mochache paused the trial at the Kibera Law Courts, asking the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to release the legal teams.
The judge confirmed that the case against Rashid could not be heard due to lengthy proceedings in the Tob Cohen murder trial, which was running concurrently on the court's calendar. The court has to prioritize the Cohen case, which has 43 witnesses listed, with the 10th witness currently on the stand. The prosecution has only one witness left to call in the Cohen trial, and the judge directed that the court would give a mention date on October 26, to formally fix a final hearing date.
The decision marks another chapter in a nine-year legal saga stemming from the March 31, 2017, deaths of teenagers Jamal Mohamed and Mohamed Dahir Kheri in Eastleigh. The incident sparked widespread outrage and calls for police accountability. Video footage showed a plainclothes officer in a red T-shirt chasing suspects near Amal Shopping Complex before shooting one youth and repeatedly firing downward into another wounded teenager.
Ahmed Rashid entered a not-guilty plea in April 2023, and 21 prosecution witnesses have testified so far. The final scheduled witness is the lead investigating officer from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority. The case stems from the fatal shooting of Jamal Mohamed and Mohamed Dahir Kheri in Eastleigh. IPOA concluded its investigation in 2022, finding the fatalities "were occasioned by police action," and recommended murder charges.
During the trial, Senior firearm examiner Commissioner Lawrence Nthiwa testified that analysis could not conclusively link Exhibit PA2 to the bullets recovered, citing heavy bullet deformation. Defence lawyer Danstan Omari challenged the lack of embedded timestamps on photographs taken at the scene and questioned witnesses about why the Pangani station officer-in-charge kept possession of essential exhibits rather than surrendering them to the court.
The proceedings were also undermined by interference with witnesses. In February 2026, two of the three witnesses scheduled to testify did not appear. Benna Buluma, convener of the Mothers of Victims and Survivors Network, explained that witnesses often decline to give evidence because they fear being pursued and threatened by police officers. Jamal's grandfather, Ramadan Karani, travelled from Tana River County to identify his grandson's body and later testified in court.
Amnesty Kenya has maintained that the families of victims deserve to know what happened to their sons. With the trial delayed again, the families will have to wait longer for justice. The court will give a mention date on October 26, to formally fix a final hearing date.
Key points
- The murder trial of Ahmed Rashid has been delayed due to the ongoing trial of Tob Cohen.
- The trial has been ongoing for nine years, with 21 prosecution witnesses testifying so far.
- The case stems from the fatal shooting of two teenagers, Jamal Mohamed and Mohamed Dahir Kheri, in Eastleigh in 2017.
