Nairobi, Kenya – Dozens of activists have staged a protest outside a mortuary in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, following the death of 31-year-old Albert Omondi Ojwang while in police custody. His death has ignited widespread outrage across the country.
Mr. Ojwang was arrested on Friday in Homa Bay, western Kenya, following a complaint by the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Eliud Lagat, who accused him of tarnishing his name on social media. He was subsequently transferred over 350 km (220 miles) to Nairobi and booked into the Central Police Station on Saturday.
Initial police statements indicated that Mr. Ojwang “sustained head injuries after hitting his head against a cell wall” while in detention. However, the Ojwang family’s lawyer, Julius Juma, has countered this claim, stating that the body bore signs of severe physical trauma, including swelling on the head, nose, and ears, as well as bruises on his shoulders and hands – injuries he described as inconsistent with a single impact against a wall.
Kenya’s Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has launched an inquiry into the death.
Holding placards and chanting “Stop killing us,” a crowd of protestors gathered outside the Nairobi City mortuary, where Mr. Ojwang’s body is being held. The demonstration later moved to the Central Police Station, where Mr. Ojwang was detained at the time of his death.
Inspector General Kanja, speaking at a press conference, confirmed that Mr. Ojwang was arrested after Mr. Lagat filed a complaint that his name was being “tarnished,” stating that “investigations were actually being carried out” on that basis.
Responding to mounting public pressure, Inspector General Kanja announced that senior officers at Nairobi’s Central Police Station had been “interdicted,” meaning they cannot perform their duties and will receive half their salaries pending the outcome of the IPOA investigation, according to police spokesperson Michael Muchiri. Mr. Kanja pledged the police would provide all “necessary support” to the investigators.
Police say Mr. Ojwang was found unconscious during a routine cell inspection and “rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.”
The director of Amnesty International’s Kenya branch, Irungu Houghton, told the BBC that Mr. Ojwang’s death was “very suspicious.” Mr. Houghton expressed “shock” that Mr. Ojwang was not booked into a local police station after his detention and instead underwent a long journey to Nairobi. On Sunday, he called on independent investigators to secure what he described as “the crime scene” at the Nairobi police station.
Mr. Ojwang’s death in detention comes amid increasing concerns about the treatment of government critics in Kenya. Last week, software developer Rose Njeri, who created a tool to assist people in opposing a government finance bill, was charged with violating a cybercrime law, a charge she denies.
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