Several properties in the Nairobi Central Business District were damaged by Kenyans who took to the streets to protest the death of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang.

The groups protesting against Ojwang’s killing demanded the resignation of Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat, the complainant in the case against the late.

The late Ojwang died while in police custody. He was arrested in Homa Bay County and transferred to Nairobi Central Police Station.

The protests caused tension in the city as the government dispatched anti-riot police officers to quell the situation.

Businesses were closed as shop owners sought to avoid the risk of losing valuable items to violent protest groups.

During the demonstrations, two vehicles which were parked around the Nairobi Cinema area were torched as demonstrators attempted to access Parliament where CS Mbadi was reading Budget estimates.

The businesses that were destroyed include the ones along Ronald Ngala Street, Tom Mboya Street, Moi Avenue, Kenyatta Avenue, Parliament Road, City Hall Way, Muindi Mbingu Street, Koinange Street, as well as Haile Selassie Avenue.

The recently installed dustbins by the Nairobi County Government were among the property destroyed.

The dustbins, which were installed last month across the CBD, were meant to keep the capital clean after months of uproar among Kenyans and a section of leaders who complained of a dirty city.

The sleek black bins bearing Sakaja’s slogan, let’s make Nairobi clean, were torn down and the pieces were spread across the roads in the city.

According to Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, the initiative was one of the plans that his government had put in place to maintain the city’s cleanliness following a coordinated clean-up exercise led by the county’s Green Army under the Green Nairobi Department.

“Cleanliness is a collective responsibility. As the Green Army continues with their commendable efforts, let’s also play our part by not littering. We are beginning this project in the CBD and will move into residential estates in the next phase,” Governor Sakaja said during the installation.

City Hall was most affected during the anti-government demonstrations, which were held in June last yea,r when a section of the governor’s office was set on fire.

The demonstrations come amid calls across the country for the arrest and arraignment of Mr Lagat.

CNN —

Outrage over the death of a Kenyan teacher and activist in police custody sparked protests in the capital Nairobi this week after doctors refuted a police claim that he had died in his cell from a self-inflicted head injury.

The protests first erupted on Monday, a day after Kenya’s National Police Service said Albert Ojwang died while in custody from “head injuries” after “hitting his head against the cell wall.”

Ojwang’s death further enrages Kenya’s youth, who have railed against the disappearance of dozens of anti-government critics since a protest movement forced the withdrawal of a controversial finance bill last year.

Demonstrators on Thursday were confronted by police who deployed teargas in an attempt to disperse them.

Protesters chant anti-government slogans as they march to the National Police Service headquarters demanding the resignation of senior officers following the death of Albert Ojwang in police custody. Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images

Ojwang, 31, was a teacher and father whose “last known communication was a plea for bail,” according to Amnesty Kenya. Local newspaper The Daily Nation described him as an “influencer” who was known “for his strong online presence and social media campaigns.”

Ojwang was arrested on Friday, a police statement said, “for the offense of false publication.” On Sunday, he was “found unconscious,” it added, “during a routine cell inspection.”

Six police officers are being investigated, police said, according to national broadcaster KBC.

Further explaining the arrest, Kenya’s police chief, Douglas Kanja, stated on Wednesday that his deputy, Eliud Lagat, had earlier filed a complaint alleging that Ojwang accused Lagat of corruption in a post on the social media platform X.

Protesters have called for Lagat’s removal.

On Wednesday, government pathologist Bernard Midia contradicted the police’s account of what caused Ojwang’s death, saying that an autopsy “found serious injuries to the head,” as well as “features of neck compression” and “multiple soft tissue injuries that were spread all over the body.”

“The cause of death is very clear,” Midia told reporters, noting that the pattern of the injuries “are pointing towards assault” and are “unlikely to be self-inflicted.”

He said that the autopsy was carried out by a team of five pathologists.

The head of Kenya’s police, Kanja, on Wednesday retracted the initial claim on Ojwang’s cause of death.

“I tender my apology on behalf of the National Police Service for that misinformation,” Kanja told a parliamentary committee on national security.

Protesters chant slogans surrounding the statue of Kenyan leader against the British colonial rule, Dedan Kimathi, as they march demanding the resignation of senior officers. Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images

“It is not true… he did not hit his head against the wall,” the police chief told lawmakers, stating that the initial assertion was based on the preliminary information he received.

Kenya’s police watchdog, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has begun an inquiry into Ojwang’s death.

Kenyan President William Ruto said Wednesday that he’d received the news of Ojwang’s death “with utter shock and dismay.”

“This tragic occurrence, at the hands of the police, is heartbreaking and unacceptable,” Ruto said in a statement, calling for a “swift, transparent, and credible investigation.”

Kenya’s police watchdog said on Thursday that 20 people had died in custody in the past four months, as protesters clashed with security forces in the capital over a recent death.

Tensions are running high in the East African nation, with the public enraged over police brutality in the wake of massive anti-government rallies this time last year.

“We have had 20 deaths in police custody in the last four months,” the Independent Policing Oversight Authority chairperson Issak Hassan told the National Assembly.

The statement followed the death in police custody last week of 31-year-old teacher Albert Ojwang, who was arrested for criticising a senior officer online.

Illegal detentions

Police initially said he had died after hitting his own head against the wall but pathologists told reporters the injuries were “unlikely to be self-inflicted”.

On Thursday, police tear-gassed running groups of protesters, who had rallied over the death.

Rights groups have accused security forces of carrying out dozens of illegal detentions since last year’s protests, with many still missing.

Kenyan police are under pressure over the death of a blogger and teacher while in custody at a police station in Nairobi. After two days of silence and investigations, it has been confirmed that Alberto Ojwang, 31, from Homa Bay on Lake Victoria, did not commit suicide by banging his head against the wall of his cell, as the police initially claimed, but was killed and probably tortured before his death.

Kenyan police are under pressure over the death of a blogger and teacher while in custody at a police station in Nairobi. After two days of silence and investigations, it has been confirmed that Alberto Ojwang, 31, from Homa Bay on Lake Victoria, did not commit suicide by banging his head against a wall in his prison cell, as the police had initially claimed, but was killed and probably tortured before his death. The Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, publicly apologized to the nation and the family of the social media influencer after the National Police Service (NPS) had previously mistakenly stated that he had committed suicide. Kanja admitted in the Senate that the statement was “false and misleading.”

Ojwang was not a criminal; he had simply been accused of publishing a defamatory post on X, in which he accused the deputy police chief. For this, he was taken from his home and taken 400 kilometers away to the capital, where he was subjected to treatment that led to his tragic end.

So, after protests by human rights activists who took to the streets outside the morgue where the blogger’s body was being held, displaying signs reading “you can’t kill us all,” President William Ruto finally spoke out yesterday.

“This tragic event, caused by the police, is heartbreaking and unacceptable. I strongly condemn the actions and omissions, including any negligence or blatant criminality, that may have contributed to his untimely death,” Ruto told the press, warning all officers that they have a responsibility for the safety of citizens in their custody.

“The National Police Service is the trusted guardian of the safety of all persons and property in the nation and must always uphold this trust in order to ensure and maintain legitimacy and credibility in the eyes of the people,” the president said, “and must therefore rise to the challenge of tackling crime and lawlessness with firmness, while eliminating misconduct and unprofessional behavior within its ranks.”

Ruto then called on the national police to cooperate fully with the Independent Police Investigative Authority (IPOA) and to take all necessary measures to facilitate a swift, transparent, and credible investigation into Ojwang’s murder. He said he was optimistic that the truth about Ojwang’s death would come to light and that justice would be done.

In the evening, the IPOA released the names of five officers and agents from the police station where the blogger was killed who are under formal investigation.

All this is happening at a very tense time between young people, human rights activists, and those on social media seeking to provide free information. But it also comes on the eve of the approval of the new budget law and a likely demonstration, called for June 25, to commemorate the more than 65 victims of last year’s protests, which culminated in the storming of the parliament in Nairobi.

IPOA revealed that 20 people died in police custody over four months, raising serious concerns about human rights and accountability in detention

The authority told parliament that Albert Ojwang, a blogger and teacher, was tortured and fatally assaulted at Nairobi’s Central Police Station last weekend

IPOA has interrogated 17 officers and six witnesses, and is summoning top police officials, including Deputy Inspector-General Eliud Lagat, over Ojwang’s arrest and death

TUKO.co.ke journalist Harry Ivan Mboto has over three years of experience reporting on politics and current affairs in Kenya

Albert Ojwang died in police custody, but it’s now clear he wasn’t the only one to lose his life that way in recent months.

IPOA revealed that 20 people have died in police custody in the last four months. Photos: Screengrab/NTV, IPOA.

Source: UGC

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) raised alarm over the rising number of deaths in police custody, revealing that 20 people have died while in detention over the past four months.

IPOA chairperson Issack Hassan made the revelation on Thursday, June 12, while appearing before the National Assembly’s Committee on Security.

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He was addressing the controversial case of Ojwang, a teacher and blogger whose death last weekend while in custody sparked widespread outrage.

“We have had 20 deaths in police custody in the last four months,” Hassan told the lawmakers.

He called the situation a crisis of accountability within the police service.

Why was Albert Ojwang arrested?

Ojwang was arrested last Saturday in Homa Bay County, by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

The arrest was reportedly prompted by a complaint from Deputy Inspector-General Eliud Lagat over a post Ojwang made on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

The officers transported Ojwang to Nairobi and he was held at Central Police Station. But by Sunday, when his family arrived to check on him, they were told he had died and his body had already been taken to City Mortuary.

Preliminary investigations by IPOA now contradict police claims. The police had earlier said Ojwang died after hitting his head against a wall in his cell. But according to Hassan, the evidence suggests he was tortured and fatally assaulted.

“The signal by the police Inspector-General was incredible; it was a very poor cover-up attempt,” said Hassan. “The CCTV had been interfered with. The man was tortured and killed.”

Though IPOA does not have powers to prosecute, Hassan confirmed that all officers involved in Ojwang’s arrest, detention, and the handling of his body are being treated as suspects. So far, 17 officers and six witnesses have been questioned.

Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen, IG Douglas Kanja and DIG Eliud Lagat in a past event. Photo: Kipchumba Murkomen.

Source: UGC

IPOA has also summoned Lagat to record a statement.

“We expect some kind of blue code where officers will choose to be silent,” Hassan said. “But we have other means. We are not going to be used as a fire extinguisher for police or enable this cover-up.”

Pregnant woman loses baby while in police cell

In a related incident, a pregnant woman detained at Rwanyambo Police Station, Nyandarua, gave birth inside a police cell and lost her baby due to lack of medical attention.

The woman, believed to have been six to seven months pregnant, allegedly cried for help as she went into labour, but officers failed to respond.

The incident was brought to national attention when Nyandarua Senator John Methu raised it in the Senate. The senator described the situation as deeply troubling and called for an urgent investigation.

Proofreading by Jackson Otukho, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.

Source: TUKO.co.ke