Five police commanders have been found culpable for the killing of Baby Samantha Pendo.
Kisumu Senior Resident Magistrate Beryl Omollo ruled that the big five who took charge of 2017 operation in which Baby Pendo was killed in Nyalenda, Kisumu County, were guilty as charged.
An inquest presided over by Ms Omollo returned the verdict on Thursday in Kisumu.
The commanders in the soup are Linah Kogei, Benjamin Koima, Christopher Mutune Maweu, Titus Yoma and John Thiringi.
At the time of the operation, Mr Yoma was the Kisumu County Police Commander, Mr Maweu was the Kisumu East OCPD, Mr Thiringi was the Kisumu Central OCS, Mr Koima was in charge of Kisumu West while Ms Kosgei was commanding Nyalenda Police Station.
The then six-month-old baby was clobbered to death inside her father’s home by anti-riot police who were out to quell protests that broke out following the outcome of 2017 elections.
In her decision, the magistrate also ordered Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji to investigate further 31 General Service Unit officers whom she described as “persons of interest”.
Twenty other officers from various police units, who were under the command of Kogei in Nyalenda, will also be investigated, the court ruled.
At the close of the inquest in November last year, Pendo’s family and various state agencies called on the court to have police chief who led the operation pay for the death of the infant.
Her parents, Mr Joseph Abanja and his wife Lencer Achieng, said they were praying for “Valentine’s miracle”, and it is exactly what they got.
And during the hearing, the commanders pointed fingers at each other with none ready to take the blame.
At some point, the officers confronted each other in the corridors of the court.