Police officer arraigned over Albert Ojwang murder

Constable James Mukhwana has been charged with the murder of blogger of Albert Ojwang. [Collins Kweyu, Standard]

A police officer attached to the Central Police Station in Nairobi has been arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts as the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) seeks 21 days to conclude investigations into the death of social media influencer Albert Omondi Ojwang’.

Constable James Mukhwana, who served as the Cell Sentry on the night of June 8, 2025, appeared before Milimani Magistrate Robinson Ondieki.

IPOA, through a miscellaneous application, has requested that Mukhwana be detained for 21 more days to allow the authority to finalise investigations into the alleged murder.

" We seek to have Mukhwana detained at the Capitol Hill Police or any other police station within the Republic of Kenya as the investigations may dictate for 21 working days," IPOA seeks. 

In a supporting affidavit sworn by Abdirahman Jibril, the Senior Assistant Director of Investigations at IPOA, the authority has informed the court that it had launched investigations “on its own motion” upon learning of Ojwang’s death through media reports and a signal from the Inspector General of Police.

"IPOA is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Ojwang while in police custody at Central Police Station," the officer told the court.

 “Our preliminary investigations have revealed that the Respondent (Mukhwana), together with other persons at the Central Police Station, brutally assaulted the deceased inside the cells, leading to his death,” Jibril stated.

IPOA's officer further disclosed efforts by those involved to cover up the alleged crime.

The authority found that: “The CCTV system had been interfered with, the DVR power cable was disconnected, and the operating discs were changed and formatted on June 8, 2025 at 07:28:43hrs and 07:32:29hrs.”

There is a “high likelihood,” Jibril says, that Mukhwana and others “organized for the tampering of CCTV to conceal what had transpired on the night of June 7 and 8, 2025.”

Additionally, IPOA says that: “False entries were made in police records to mislead any subsequent investigations into the death of the deceased.”

Jibril emphasized that Mukhwana had been “in constant communication with people within and outside the Central Police Station immediately before, during and after the commission of the crime,” indicating possible planning and coordination in the fatal assault.

According to Jibril, preliminary investigations revealed a grim sequence of events: On June 4, 2025, a complaint was filed by Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mr Eliud Lagat, alleging that he was the target of “continuous false and malicious publications” on an X (formerly Twitter) account under the username Pixel Pioneer.

Citing ongoing risks to the integrity of the investigation, Jibril wants the constable to be denied bail because "Mukhwana is a police officer attached to the locus in quo of the crime and therefore can interfere with the investigations and tamper with the evidence at the station.”

Mukhwana was arrested on June 12, 2025, and held at Capitol Hill Police Station. IPOA is requesting his continued remand to allow for retrieval and forensic analysis of CCTV data.

IPOA also says that it needs more time to seize police documents, forensic examination of mobile phones of the suspects involved, completion of sample analysis from the Government Chemist and further witness interviews

 “It is in the interest of justice and the rule of law that Mukhwana is detained to allow completion of independent and impartial investigations,” Jibril stated.

The court has remanded Police Constable James Mukhwana at Capitol Hill Police Station until June 20, 2025, when the Magistrate Ondieki is expected to rule on whether to grant the IPOA's request to continue holding him for 21 more days.