The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) has confirmed that Albert Ojwang’ died inside a police cell at Nairobi’s Central police station, contradicting initial claims by the police that he died at Mbagathi hospital.
In a statement released on Thursday evening, Ipoa disclosed that its investigations had established Ojwang’ died while in custody on June 8, shortly after his arrest in Homa Bay county and subsequent transfer to Nairobi.
“The deceased died while in custody at Nairobi’s Central police station cells,” Ipoa said.
The authority added that the CCTV system located at the Officer Commanding Station’s (OCS) office had been tampered with, including disconnection of power cables and formatting of the device on the morning of Ojwang’s death.
Ojwang’, a resident of Lida Centre in Homa Bay, was arrested on June 7 by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) following claims that he was linked to an X (formerly Twitter) account accused of spreading false and malicious information targeting Deputy Inspector General, Kenya Police Service Eliud Lagat.
He was taken to Mawego police station, then later booked at Nairobi’s Central police station at 9.31pm.
The following day, police reported that Ojwang’ had died after being rushed to Mbagathi hospital.
However, Ipoa’s findings paint a different picture.
A postmortem conducted on June 10 ruled out suicide, citing the cause of death as head injury due to blunt force trauma, neck compression, and multiple subcutaneous bruises across the body.
“These findings disprove the suicide theory,” Ipoa stated.
The oversight body has so far arrested two police officers, including the Nairobi’s Central Police Station OCS, Samson Talam, and a civilian in connection with the case.
Investigators also collected blood samples from the scene, seized the CCTV digital video recorder for forensic analysis, and obtained statements from five arresting officers, family members, and a detainee.
Ipoa pledged to continue with its investigations independently and transparently.
“The authority remains committed to being impartial, fair, and apolitical,” CEO Elema Halake said.
Ojwang’s death has sparked public outrage and renewed calls for police accountability in custodial deaths.
The case remains under active investigation as pressure mounts for justice for the deceased and his family.
Lobbyists and a section of Kenyans also calling for the resignation of Lagat to pave the way for impartial investigations into the murder described by President William Ruto as “heartbreaking and unacceptable.”
