Frantic three-day probe that led to Ojwang's death in Central Police

Albert Ojwang. [Courtesy] An innocent post on the 'X' platform for Albert Ojwang opened the floodgates to a series of events that culminated with his corpse lying cold at Mbagathi Hospital. Interviews conducted with the family, submissions by the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Mohamed Amin, the Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and the Independent Policing and Oversight Authority (IPOA) in Parliament have also revealed that for the teacher, father of one and social media influencer, his demise -catalyzed by rogue state operatives- came painfully. A report by Mbagathi Hospital has now revealed grim details of his torture before death; his face was swollen, body and limbs were marred by multiple bruises with blood oozing from the back of his head, his mouth, and his eyes. The back of his head also had a cut. As questions abound on what exactly happened to Ojwang', The Saturday Standard has pieced together the series of events that led to his murder and the protests that have emerged in its wake. Ojwang family's nightmare, according to Kanja, began on Friday June 6, 2025, at 1:30pm, at his home in Kokwanyo Village, Kabondo Kasipul Constituency, in Homa Bay County. The family's spokesperson Joseph Okumu narrated how three motorbikes arrived at Ojwang's home, where he was having lunch together with his wife and child, under trees that he planted as part of his environmental conservation exercise. Clad in civilian attire, the men alighted and after a brief introduction during which they claimed to have been acting on complaints of the Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat, they left with Ojwang'. "Six officers took Ojwang' from his home...a Mr Sigei and Mr Rapudo were among them," said Joseph Okumu, the family spokesperson. Oblivious to the fact that that would be the last time he'd see his son alive, Meshack Ojwang watched as the officers left with Ojwang. One motorbike went ahead as Ojwang was sandwiched by two officers on the second one. The third one trailed him. He was then taken to Mawego Police Station where he was interrogated and later shoved into a waiting blue Subaru vehicle which left the station at between 3pm and 4pm. When appearing before the Senate on Wednesday, IG Kanja said that the officers departed for Nairobi, and were lodged under OB number 11/07/06/2025. According to Kanja, the team ferrying Ojwang' made a stop over in Narok town where he declined his last meal instead of asking for water, soda and biscuits. They would later arrive in Nairobi at 9:17 pm. "In Nairobi, Ojwang contacted his wife to inform her of his safe arrival. Chief Inspector Samson Talam, the station OCS, was contacted and authorised the booking after confirming the suspect was physically and mentally fit Ojwang was placed in the cells and the entry was recorded in the OB at 21:35 hours," said the IG. During the phone call, he is said to have informed his wife that he was afraid and sought an assurance that his wife would not abandon him. But Senators sought to know what triggered the arrest and IG Kanja confirmed that it was his deputy Eliud Lagat that had lodged a complaint filed with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on June 4, claiming that Ojwang had falsely posted on X that he (Lagat) was being investigated for corruption by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission. Following the complaint, DCI Director Mohamed Amin is said to have assembled a team of officers, including Abdulrahman Hussein, Denis Kanyoni, Samuel Kamau, and Milton Mwanza, to handle the case. Senators further heard that Hillary Mutai from the Serious Crimes Unit and Mwanza went to Vigilance House on the same day to record Lagat's complaint. "On that day, the investigating team wrote to the EACC to confirm whether Deputy Inspector General of Police Lagat was under any investigation," he said. "A request was also made in writing to the Communications Authority to provide registration details and preserve the posts associated with the X account handle."..... However, on Tuesday Communications Authority expressed "grave concern" over what it termed as misleading and factually incorrect allegations that they had supplied data to DCI concerning Ojwang's whereabouts or the circumstances surrounding his death. "As a regulator, CA does not have access to real-time location data of mobile subscribers. We do not initiate, direct, or participate in the operational use of data held by licensed telecommunications service providers." According to CA, any data requests from law enforcement are subject to strict legal processes, including judicial oversight and judicial oversight and are limited to instances where there is a valid court order or lawful request as per the law," the Authority stressed. However, according to Amin, the team then sought more details on another individual, Kevin Moinde, and obtained registration information from the Communications Authority. "The investigation team concluded that EACC had not initiated any investigations into Lagat, contrary to the claims made on social media," Kanja said. "There existed a prima facie case for the arrest of the suspect under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act." On June 5, the officers travelled to Kisii County and booked themselves at Kenyenya Police Station. Kanja said they were joined by a local officer named Phanice, who had been assigned by the sub-county DCI. The team arrested Moinde and booked him under OB number 25/05/06/2025 before taking him to DCI headquarters. "At the DCI headquarters, Moinde provided a statement implicating four other individuals," Kanja said. "The team's analysis revealed that Ojwang had also posted similar content." On June 6, the officers proceeded to Homa Bay, where they reported to Magwengo Police Station. The Officer Commanding Station assigned three officers to assist with the operation. Ojwang was arrested and booked under OB number 06/07/06/2025. Later that day, the officers departed for Nairobi, with the departure recorded under OB number 11/07/06/2025. "In Nairobi, Ojwang contacted his wife to inform her of his safe arrival. Mr Samson Talam, the station OCS, was contacted and authorised the booking. After confirming his physical and mental condition, Ojwang was placed in the cells and the entry was recorded in the OB at 21:35 hours," he said. According to Amin, Ojwang's condition upon arrival at the Central Police station was booked under OB 136/07/06/2025 by Police Constable (PC) Mohamed Abdullahi and placed in a cell by PC Mukwana. He was booked under the offence of publication of false information. "That is documented and nothing can be changed," Amin told the committee. Amin, who was before the National Assembly Committee on Administration and Internal Security, noted that at 01:35hrs on June 8, PC Abdullahi made a digital Occurrence Book (OB) entry documenting unusual behaviour. "Duty officer IP Ng'ang'a and cell sentry PC Kimani visited the cells and found most of them in order, except for the last cell where Albert Omondi Ojwang, who was alone, was making noise and kicking the cell walls," he said, in reference an OB extract. He testified under oath that a letter from Mbagathi Hospital confirmed Ojwang was taken to hospital around 2 am and was pronounced dead upon arrival. However, the report attached to the court proceedings, from Mbagathi Hospital, stated that Ojwang was brought from the Central police station unconscious and unresponsive. The report added that the officer who took him to the hospital claimed that he sustained self-inflicted injuries while in custody. Amin also attempted to explain Sergent Sigei's involvement in the case noting that was the officer who contacted the Central police OCS for clearance. The Standard has learnt from sources that Sigei and his team are said to have arrived at the Central police station at around 9:35 pm, where they found a female officer on the receiving desk. After they explained themselves, the said officer called Talaam who was off duty and told him that the DCI had come with a suspect believed to be the one behind the fake news about DIG Lagat. According to the source, the OCS instructed the DCI officers wait for him. He arrived at the station at about 11pm, had a conversation with the officers. Meanwhile, as they waited for him, the DCI officers notified Ojwang that his phone would be used as an exhibit, but allowed him to make some calls before they left. Ojwang called his wife, mother and a friend. After Talaam had a chat with the DCI officers, they handed Ojwang to him and left. Talaam then made a call to an officer who was originally an Administration Police Officer but moved to the regular police during the merger and has been at the station for over 20 years. "He always helps us get hidden information from those who do not want to collaborate. He has two civilians who always help him out," the source said. According to the source, Ojwang had been booked as offender 59. The OCS gave a directive that some of the offenders be released to create a room where Ojwang would be held. At about midnight, Mukhwana arrived at the station in the company of three civilians. He was briefed and shown the cell in which Ojwang was being held. At 3am, Sigei was called and informed to dash back to the station as things were not okay......When Sigei arrived, they had a small argument on what had happened before he left in a hurry. Investigations by IPOA have however disputed the police's order of events noting that they (police) were involved in a cover up attempt to circumvent justice. It was also during the sitting that IPOA chairperson Hassan expressed sustained efforts by police to cover up the murder and stall the investigations. He said the Authority's investigations had established that hard disks of CCTV systems at Nairobi's Central Police Station were replaced and formatted. The source said, that on Sunday morning, a civilian lady who manages the CCTV was informed to report to the station. She has been operating and maintaining the camera since 2024 The lady came and called one of her technicians and asked him to manipulate the footage which he deleted at a fee of Sh3,000. He was to replace the hard disc too to camouflage the coverup but by the time he brought the hardware, he found the job had been done. The Gabriel Tongoyo-led committee heard that digital video recorder (DVR) logs showed the discs were changed and formatted on June 8, 2025, at 07:23:29 and 07:23:48 hours. Notably, IG Kanja had earlier submitted that Ojwang was booked at the Central Police Station under the Occurrence Book number 136/7/6/2025 at 21:35 hours on June 7, 2025. Hassan consequently termed the move a poor attempt to "erase surveillance footage" linked to the events leading to Ojwang's death while in police custody. "Somebody called someone to come and switch off a particular section, but he said he could only shut down the entire system," Hassan submitted. He also disclosed that the CCTV hard disks had been replaced in what appeared to be a calculated scheme to conceal evidence. "The deceased died while in custody at central police station cells. The CCTV system located at the OCS office had been interfered with. The power cables were disconnected...The DVR logs indicated that the operating discs had been changed and formatted on June 8, 2025, at 07:23:48 hours and 07:23:29 hours,'' added Hassan. And on Thursday, IPOA spearheaded the arrest of James Mukwana who was at the central police station cell sentry the night Ojwang died. Mr Abdirahman Jibril who is a senior assistant director of investigations at IPOA, said that there was a high likelihood that, Mukhwana alongside others still at large organized the tampering of CCTV footage to conceal what had transpired on the night of 7th and 8th June., 2025 when Ojwang was brutally assaulted to death.

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