Seven years after their baby daughter was killed during a brutal midnight operation by police in Kenya at a time of post-election tension, Joseph Oloo Abanja and Lensa Achieng are still filled with emotion as the case against the alleged officers involved has once again been delayed.
“It is a scar that will never fade away,” Ms Achieng, a hotel worker, tells the BBC about the death of six-month-old Samantha Pendo who died with a broken skull and of internal bleeding.
After each postponement or small development, the couple are bombarded with calls. Each moment of hope leads to disappointment in their pursuit of justice.
The family resides in the western city of Kisumu – an opposition stronghold where riots erupted in August 2017 due to dissatisfaction with the election results that were eventually re-run because of irregularities.
Samantha Pendo’s parents are eager for the case against the police officers to proceed [Gladys Kigo / BBC]
Their modest home was situated along a road in the Nyalenda informal settlement that witnessed protests on 11 August where anti-riot police were deployed.
That night, the couple secured their wooden door and barricaded it with furniture. Around midnight, they heard their neighbors’ doors being forcefully opened and some occupants being assaulted.
It wasn’t long before police officers reached their door.
“They knocked and kicked it several times [but] I refused to open,” Mr Abanja tells the BBC, explaining that he begged them to spare his family of four.
But the assault continued until the officers found a small opening through which they lobbed a tear gas canister into the one-roomed house, forcing the family outside.
Mr Abanja recalls being instructed to lie down outside the door before the beating commenced.
“They were aiming for my head so I raised my hands, and they struck my hands until they couldn’t hold anymore.”
His wife emerged from the house carrying Samantha, who struggled to breathe due to the tear gas, and she was not spared from the brutality either.
“They proceeded to beat me [with clubs] while I was holding my daughter,” Ms Achieng recounts.
She then felt her daughter clutching her tightly “as if she was in pain.”
“I turned her and what was coming out of her mouth? It was foam.”
She screamed that they had killed her daughter, and at that moment, the beatings ceased, and Mr Abanja was instructed to administer first aid.
The baby regained consciousness but was severely injured.
The couple claim the officers quickly departed, and neighbors helped rush Samantha to the hospital. She passed away after three days in intensive care.
Samantha Pendo died three days after being admitted to intensive care [BBC]
Their pursuit of justice has been lengthy and frustrating, mirroring that of many others affected by the post-election violence.
Twelve police officers were expected to face charges of murder, rape, and torture – but the hearing for this has yet to take place.
One of the victims’ lawyers, Willys Otieno, attributes the delay to a lack of political will to provide justice to victims of election violence.
“The state is no longer interested in prosecuting the perpetrators, [and] it is now up to victims’ counsels – those of us who collaborate with non-governmental organizations and human rights groups to press for the charges to be filed and the accused to stand trial,” Mr Otieno tells the BBC.
He accuses the current director of public prosecutions (DPP) of favoring the accused.
“It is not even the accused who have sought adjournment – it is the DPP who has requested postponement of plea-taking,” the lawyer said in reference to two failed attempts at plea-taking last October and November.
The third attempt was scheduled to occur two days ago but was postponed due to the transfer of the presiding judge – now rescheduled for the end of the month.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) declined to comment but stated on X that “the case remains one of the most high-profile in recent history, with Baby Pendo’s death symbolizing the tragic outcomes of police brutality during the 2017 post-election unrest.”
But those involved in the case are troubled by the delays.
“It was the Office of the DPP that initiated this case, and they were the ones that reached out to us several years ago. They asked us to join a victim support group that was essentially established to ensure they would have witnesses for their case,” Irungu Houghton, head of the rights group Amnesty International Kenya, tells the BBC.
After initial investigations, the DPP at the time, Nurdin’ Hajji, initiated a public inquest into the death of baby Samantha. El juez encontró a la policía culpable.
Posteriormente, el fiscal público ordenó más investigaciones en otros casos resultantes de la operación policial de agosto de 2017, e involucró a organismos investigativos constitucionales independientes, a la sociedad civil y al Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos.
La pesquisa descubrió evidencia que el FDP dijo que apuntaba al “uso sistemático de violencia, incluyendo asesinatos, torturas, violaciones y otras formas de violencia sexual, contra civiles, todas las cuales constituyen graves violaciones de los derechos humanos y crímenes de lesa humanidad”.
En octubre de 2022, el fiscal entonces buscó que los sospechosos fueran acusados, por primera vez en la historia de Kenia bajo su Ley de Crímenes Internacionales.
Los acusados incluyen comandantes considerados responsables debido a su responsabilidad como oficiales superiores, otro hecho inédito para Kenia.
En septiembre de 2023 asumió un nuevo FDP, Renson M Ingonga, pero ha habido poco avance en el caso desde entonces.
Parece haber “una falta de voluntad para intentar procesar este caso”, dice el Sr. Houghton.
Una investigación en 2019 responsabilizó a los agentes de policía de la muerte de Samantha Pendo y ordenó más investigaciones [Gladys Kigo / BBC]
El Sr. Otieno dice que los abogados de las víctimas podrían considerar buscar justicia a través de una acusación privada o acudir al Tribunal de Justicia del África Oriental o a la Corte Penal Internacional si continúan las demoras.
Los padres de Samantha apoyan esta idea ya que sin justicia dicen que no pueden sanar, cada aplazamiento les vuelve a abrir las heridas.
“No importa cómo lo haga, pero me aseguraré de tener justicia”, dice el Sr. Abanja, quien ahora tiene 40 años y se gana la vida como taxista de tuk-tuk.
“Porque me quitaron algo muy precioso – ella lo era todo para mí, esa niña a la que nombré en honor a mi mamá.”
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[Getty Images/BBC]
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