A senior police officer has been arrested by Kenyan authorities in connection with the death of a blogger who died in police custody last week, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) confirmed on Friday. The incident has sparked violent protests and renewed scrutiny of police misconduct in Kenya.
Albert Omondi Ojwang, 31, died by suicide in a cell at Nairobi’s Central Police Station on Sunday, two days after his arrest, according to police officials who later issued an apology. However, an independent autopsy found evidence suggesting assault as the more likely cause of death.
Samati Kemboi, IPOA commissioner, said the officer in charge of the Central Police Station was detained along with a closed-circuit television (CCTV) technician suspected of dismantling the station’s CCTV system.
According to Samati Kemboi, commissioner of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), the police watchdog, the police officer in charge of Central Police Station was taken into custody on Friday, along with a closed-circuit television (CCTV) technician who had been called to dismantle the station’s CCTV.
Tampered CCTV
The watchdog reported that CCTV footage had been tampered with and records “changed and formatted” in the early hours of Sunday, raising concerns over a potential cover-up.
The 31-year-old’s case has brought the nation’s security services under intense scrutiny.
Ojwang’s death has intensified calls for accountability within Kenya’s security services, which have long been accused of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
Protest over blogger’s death
His death infuriated hundreds of demonstrators, who staged a demonstration in Nairobi on Thursday.
As crowds demanded the resignation of the nation’s Deputy Police Chief Eliud Lagat, vehicles were set on fire, and police used teargas to disperse them.
According to the IPOA report, Lagat officially complained on June 4 about “continuous false and malicious publications” about Ojwang allegedly published by an X account purportedly connected to him.
Background
Techpression had earlier reported that scores of protesters gathered in Nairobi on Monday, demanding justice after Albert Omondi Ojwang died in police custody.
Ojwang, a teacher and blogger, was arrested on Friday in Homa Bay for allegedly defaming Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat in a social media post on X.
Two days later, he was found unconscious in a cell at Nairobi’s Central Police Station and subsequently pronounced dead at the hospital.
Ojwang’s arrest followed a complaint filed by Deputy IG Eliud Lagat, who claimed his name had been tarnished online. Instead of being detained locally, Ojwang was transported over 350 kilometres to Nairobi, raising serious legal and ethical questions. According to police, he suffered head injuries after “hitting his head on a cell wall.”
But that explanation has been strongly disputed. The family’s lawyer, Julius Juma, said Ojwang’s body showed signs of physical trauma, including swelling on the head, nose, and ears, along with bruises on his hands and shoulders. “These injuries are inconsistent with a single impact,” Juma told reporters outside Nairobi City Mortuary, where a protest was held.
A postmortem conducted on Tuesday at Nairobi Funeral Home, involving a team of pathologists including observers from the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) and the Police Reforms Working Group, concluded that Ojwang died from severe head trauma, neck compression, and multiple soft tissue injuries consistent with assault rather than a fall.
The IPOA report also revealed that on June 4, Deputy IG Lagat lodged a formal complaint about continuous false and malicious publications regarding Ojwang, allegedly linked to a fake X account purportedly associated with him.
The autopsy was carried out at Nairobi Funeral Home by Dr. Bernard Midia and Dr. Caroline Njoroge, alongside five other pathologists, including observers from the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) and the Police Reforms Working Group.