Outrage over Albert Ojwang’s brutal death in police cell

By Newsflash Writer

The mysterious death of 31-year-old Albert Ojwang while in police custody has ignited outrage and intensified scrutiny of law enforcement conduct.

Ojwang was arrested in Homa Bay on Saturday, 7 June, by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over claims of spreading false information online and later died under suspicious circumstances in Nairobi.

His arrest is the latest in a series of actions perceived as a government crackdown on dissenting online voices, coming just days after software developer Rose Njeri was also detained.

Ojwang was transported to Nairobi the same day and booked at Central Police Station, where authorities claim he took his life. Police allege that he repeatedly banged his head against a cell wall, lost consciousness, and was rushed to Mbagathi Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Arrest sparks outrage

Ojwang’s father, Meshack Ojwang Opiyo, said his son was arrested at their home in Kakoth Village, Kabondo Kasipul Constituency, at around 1:30 pm on Saturday. Recalling the moment, he said two motorcycles arrived simultaneously from opposite directions, each carrying two plainclothes officers who introduced themselves as police and informed his son he was under arrest.

“One officer, who identified himself as Sigei, said Albert had insulted their boss on X (formerly Twitter). When I asked who the boss was, Sigei told me not to ask too many questions and directed me to follow them to Mawego Police Station,” Opiyo recalled.

After a short detention at Mawego Police Station, Ojwang was taken to DCI headquarters in Nairobi, then moved to Central Police Station. Opiyo and his brother followed the officers and even managed a brief phone conversation with Ojwang, who pleaded for consideration due to his asthma. According to Opiyo, officers ignored his request.

On Sunday morning, Opiyo visited Central Police Station, unaware his son had died hours earlier. Officers casually advised him to return later after breakfast. At 10:10 am, when he returned, he was taken to the OCS’s office and then to the sub-county commander’s office, where he was informed that his son had died by suicide. Ojwang, a teacher, was Opiyo’s only child. “He had just started a family and had a two-and-a-half-year-old child. I raised him through quarry work. I wanted him to take care of me in old age,” Opiyo said in anguish.

Contradictions and unanswered questions

Mbagathi Hospital officials confirmed that Ojwang was brought in already deceased. A police press statement by spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga stated that Ojwang was lawfully arrested for publishing falsehoods and suffered head injuries from hitting the wall while in custody. Nyaga added that the Independent Policing Oversight Authority is investigating the incident.

However, inconsistencies quickly emerged. Although police claimed Ojwang committed suicide, City Mortuary records list the cause of death as “sudden death.” Further confusion arose when police initially said the body was at Mbagathi Mortuary, only for it to be traced to Nairobi Funeral Home (formerly City Mortuary).

A friend who requested anonymity said Ojwang called him at 9:48 pm from Central Police Station on Saturday but had not been officially booked by 10:35 pm. Strangely, police later claimed he was entered into the Occurrence Book at 9:05 pm—before that phone call.

Opiyo, who viewed his son’s body at the funeral home, said it had multiple facial injuries and was bleeding from the nose and mouth. “That does not match the suicide explanation. His face is swollen, his eyes, nose, and mouth are bruised. That’s not someone who banged his head to death,” he said.

The alleged offensive post that led to Ojwang’s arrest had reportedly been made from Kelvin Moinde’s X account, where Ojwang was one of four administrators. Moinde himself was arrested on Thursday in Tendere village, Kisii County, and is currently held at Kamukunji Police Station in Nairobi.

As the family demands justice, growing public concern surrounds the conflicting accounts and the perceived abuse of power by state agencies in silencing critical online voices.