Court revisits scene of slain student leader's death, 6 years on
Justice Patrick Jeremy Otieno leaves a house in Kabebe village, Tigania West in Meru on November 10, 2020, when the High Court visited the scene where Meru University student leader Evans Njoroge was shot dead in 2018.
A Meru High Court will on August 9, 2024, for the second time visit the scene where a Meru University student leader was allegedly shot dead by an administrative police officer during protests six years ago.
Justice Edward Muriithi, the prosecution and witnesses will hold a session at Kabebe village, where Mr Evans Njoroge was shot dead as he sought refuge in a farmhouse.
Policeman Leaky Maina, who was stationed at Miathene AP post, has denied the February 27, 2018 murder and is out on Sh200,000 cash bail.
Ms Florence Karimi, a ballistics expert based at the DCI headquarters, displays a gun in court on January 26, 2021 in a case where former police officer Leaky Maina is accused of killing Meru University student Evans Njoroge on February 27, 2018.
The court's visit to the crime scene, about two kilometres from the university, is the second after magistrate Patrick Jeremy Otieno held a session there on November 10, 2020.
Crime scene visits by the court are relatively rare but have been carried out in several cases, including the high-profile trial of journalist Jacque Maribe and her ex-boyfriend Joseph Irungu alias Jowie.
Mr Irungu was sentenced to death for the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani, while his co-accused Ms Maribe was acquitted.
Visiting the scene of the crime helps to reconstruct the crime and to understand the various pieces of evidence presented in court, especially by providing a sense of distance.
During the last visit, the court heard how a police patrol car chased rioting students to the scene where the student leader was allegedly gunned down in cold blood.
Beatrice Atieno, an officer with the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), told the court that the vehicle was close to the scene when Mr Njoroge was killed while hiding under a tree.
She showed the court the scene where the deceased, nicknamed Kidero, was shot a few metres from the farmhouse where a family was having lunch.
Ms Atieno said the vehicle then drove to Maua, about 40 kilometres from the scene, before returning to Nchiru market in Tigania West, where the university is located.
Some of the witnesses have testified on camera for their own safety.
