The trial against former Special Service Unit (SSU) officers accused of killing two people, including President William Ruto's Campaign Technologist, was on Tuesday, June 6, suspended.
Kahawa Law Court Chief Magistrate Diana Mochache postponed the trial after it became apparent that the prosecutor did not have the Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) evidence the state was supposed to adduce before the court.
In an application before the court, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) asked the Judge to suspend the trial until September 5, when the DNA evidence will be ready.
In a petition, the ODPP explained that the delay was occasioned by the Shakahola deaths probe where most government resources had been directed.
"All government machinery is concentrating on Shakahola. No prejudice will be suffered by accused persons since all are out on bond." ODPP stated.
The defence counsel led by Miss Katirina had objected to the postponement arguing that the government possessed enough resources to conduct the DNA tests and avail the results as required.
Katirina argued that the State was unnecessarily subjecting the accused to emotional torture through delays, affecting their rights and freedoms.
The counsel complained that the case had been in court for over six months and the prosecution had not been able to gather enough evidence to proceed with the trial.
The team observed that the state had delayed formal charges against the suspects because there was no evidence linking them with the killing of President Ruto's Technologist and his taxi driver.
The Advocates complained to the chief magistrate that the case was taking too long to kick off hence subjecting the accused to emotional and financial strain.
The prosecution, however, dismissed the defence counsel's arguments, noting that their clients were not in any way subjected to difficulties since they were out on bond.
Special Service Unit (SSU) was disbanded on October 2022 after President William Ruto accused the unit of human rights abuses.
SSU was a unit within the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) responsible for taking down hardcore criminals and counter-terrorism operations.
The SSU had been accused of human rights abuses including extrajudicial killings, torture, and arbitrary arrests. In 2019, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) found that the SSU was responsible for the deaths of at least 10 people in a span of two years.
The disbandment of the SSU was welcomed by human rights groups with NHRC celebrating the disbandment as a positive step sending a clear message that the government is serious about ending human rights abuses.
