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Kenyan Father Relieved Policeman to Face Charges for Son's Killing

Lenny Ruvaga

   NAIROBI - Kenyan police have confirmed a police officer is to face
   charges over the killing of a 13-year-old boy during enforcement of a
   coronavirus curfew.

   Yassin Moyo was shot in late March while standing on his family's
   apartment balcony in Nairobi -- a tragedy that a police spokesman
   described as an accident. But activists have long accused Kenyan police
   of brutality and unlawful killings, with little to show in the way of
   action.

   Yassin's father, Hussein Moyo, saidhe is relieved to hear that a
   policeman will face charges over his son's death.

   Moyo saidhis neighbor, who witnessed the incident, saw the policeman
   steady his gun and take aim on his target. He then let loose his shot,
   Moyo said. By then, he said, his eldest daughter had told her
   mother,Hadija,"Let's get away from this balcony, it's not safe." Hadija
   beckoned the children to get away, Moyo said, but by then it was too
   late. Yassin had been hit by the bullet.

   A Kenyan police spokesman confirmed a policeman is to be charged over
   the teenager's death but also described it as an accident.

   "We know he didn't do it intentionally but still he has committed a
   crime of manslaughter or whatever. He has killed an innocent life
   because of his professional negligence. If he would have done his work
   professionally, the way he is trained, we would not have lost that
   boy," he said.

   Kenyan protesters last week decried what they call years of police
   impunity and a jump in incidents of police brutality during the curfew.

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