Kenya Arrests Officers Over Blogger’s Death In Police Custody

Kenyan authorities over the weekend arrested a senior police officer in connection with the death of blogger and activist Albert Ojwang in police custody, after mass protests erupted in the capital Nairobi this week, following a report refuting police claims that he died from a self-inflicted injury, the Associated Press reported. 

Kenya’s police watchdog, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, said security cameras at the station had been tampered with and disks were formatted a day after the blogger died in his cell. 

On Friday, officials detained Samson Talam, the officer commanding the central police station in Nairobi where Ojwang was held.  

Talam’s arrest came a day after authorities detained another officer from the station for their involvement in the death. 

Local media and police officials said six officers are being investigated, CNN wrote. 

Ojwang, a teacher, was arrested earlier this month in western Kenya for allegedly publishing “false information” about a senior police official and was transported more than 240 miles to Nairobi.  

The blogger died two days later in his cell, with officers initially claiming Ojwang died after “hitting his head against the cell wall.”  

Last week, government pathologist Bernard Midia found that the victim had a “head injury, neck compression and other injuries spread all over the body that are pointing toward assault.” 

The death and the pathologist’s report sparked outrage in Kenya, with demonstrators taking to the capital’s streets last week to condemn police brutality and the targeting of government critics.  

They demanded the resignation of the country’s police deputy chief Eliud Lagat, whose complaint allegedly led to Ojwang’s arrest. 

On Wednesday, President William Ruto called the death “heartbreaking and unacceptable” and demanded a “swift, transparent, and credible investigation.” 

Even so, Kenyan police have come under fire repeatedly over the past few years for brutality and extrajudicial killings. 

Ojwang’s death comes nearly a year after activists were killed or abducted by police during anti-government protests over a controversial finance bill.