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But those involved in the case find the delay troubling.
“It was the DPP Office that initiated this case, and they were the ones who reached out to us a few years ago. They asked us to join a victim support group that was basically established to ensure that they would have witnesses for their case,” Irungu Houghton, head of rights group Amnesty International Kenya, told the BBC.
After the initial investigation, the DPP at the time, Nurdin ‘Hajji, started a public inquiry into the death of baby Samantha. The judge found the police guilty.
Subsequently, the public prosecutor ordered further investigations into other cases resulting from the August 2017 police operation, and brought together independent constitutional investigative bodies, civil society and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The investigation uncovered evidence that the DPP said showed “the systematic use of violence, including murder, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, against civilians, all of which constitute human rights violations and crimes against humanity”.
In October 2022, prosecutors then sought to indict the suspects, for the first time in Kenya’s history under its International Crimes Act.
Those to be charged include commanders who are held responsible because of their responsibilities as superior officers – which is not the case for Kenya.
In September 2023, a new DDP took office, Renson M Ingonga, but there has been little movement in the case.
There appears to be “an unwillingness to try to prosecute this case,” Mr Houghton said.
