Kenya policeman charged with murder after curfew killing of teenager

Local artists have painted a mural in memory of Yasin Moyo near where he lived in Nairobi

A Kenyan policeman has been charged with the murder of 13-year-old Yasin Moyo, who was shot as he stood on a balcony in March watching police enforce a night-time curfew.

Duncan Ndiema pleaded not guilty.

Outside court, his lawyer said the state would have to prove that the bullet that killed the teenager came from his client's gun.

The case comes amid concern in Kenya over the level of police violence used to enforce coronavirus restrictions.

A night-time curfew was introduced at the end of March, along with other measures, in order to slow the spread of Covid-19.

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On 30 March, Yasin was watching from the balcony of his parent's flat in Mathare, a poor neighbourhood in the capital, Nairobi, as police were checking the street, his mother Khadija Abdullahi Hussein told BBC Africa Eye.

'I've been shot'

"After a few minutes I heard gunshots, so I told the kids to lie down. I [then] noticed that Yasin had fallen off the chair where he was standing.

"He told me: 'Mama I've been shot.'"

Mr Ndiema was charged after an investigation by the country's Independent Policing Oversight Authority.

The policeman is now in detention and a bail hearing is due to take place on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, BBC Africa Eye reported on the high levels of anger in Mathare over the way people there have been treated by police.

At least seven people were killed in different parts of Kenya in the first five nights of the curfew, rights group Amnesty International said.

President Uhuru Kenyatta later apologised "for some excesses that were conducted".