NAIROBI: Thirteen Kenyan security officials pleaded not guilty to claims of murdering two American people and their Kenyan drivers in 2022 in a politically-charged scenario, their attorney said Friday.
On Thursday, the policemen, a national intelligence officer, and a wildlife warden appeared before a judge in connection with the killing of Indian driver Nicodemus Mwange and two other Indians, who were identified by the prosecution as Mohamed Zaid Sami Kidwai and Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan.
” It is a political case. Our clients are innocent”, defence lawyer Danstan Omari told AFP.
The two Indians were alleged to have worked on Kenyan President William Ruto’s successful 2022 election campaign, according to media reports.
They were killed and their bodies dumped in the forest in July 2022, weeks before the election, media reported, citing evidence given by investigators in court.
About three months after the murder, Ruto disbanded a unit charged with extrajudicial killings.
According to the defense lawyer, they have been in custody for two and a half years and have been accused of abducting the three men.
On Thursday, the prosecutor also brought murder charges against the defendants, who pleaded not guilty.
The BBC in 2022 cited Kidwai’s wife as saying that he was in Kenya for tourism.
The court in Kiambu, near Nairobi, said it would rule on a bail request for the suspects on March 20, the state prosecution service said in a statement.
