NAIROBI, Kenya- The murder trial of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang continued before the Kibera High Court on Wednesday, with prosecutors presenting detailed forensic evidence that they say reconstructs the events surrounding his final hours in police custody and the tampering of surveillance systems at Nairobi’s Central Police Station.
The prosecution called the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) Head of Forensics, Joshua Mutua, who guided the court through a forensic analysis of CCTV footage recovered from the station despite what investigators described as deliberate attempts to erase the recordings.
The hearing was led by Senior Assistant Directors of Public Prosecutions Jalson Makori and Wangui Gichuhi, alongside Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Dancun Ondimu.
Before Mutua took the stand, the prosecution recalled Prosecution Witness Three (PW3), an officer attached to the records office at Central Police Station.
The witness completed her testimony regarding the deletion of CCTV footage covering June 6 and June 7, 2025, and explained the circumstances under which the surveillance recordings were allegedly deleted on June 8, 2025.
Mutua, a video investigations specialist with IPOA, then presented what he described as a chronological reconstruction of events captured by the station’s surveillance system on June 7, 2025, beginning shortly before Albert Ojwang arrived at the station and ending when he was removed from the premises.
Using photographs and CCTV images displayed in court, Mutua explained the layout of Central Police Station, identifying the locations monitored by various surveillance cameras, including the main gate, report office, holding area, search office, cell corridors and the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) office.
The court heard that Mutua’s investigations began on June 9, 2025, when he visited the station together with fellow investigator Naphtali Nduhi to examine the CCTV infrastructure.
According to his testimony, he first contacted a technician identified as Dan, whose details had been provided by a records officer. When Dan was unavailable, he referred the investigators to another technician, Aaron, who had participated in the installation of the station’s CCTV system in 2024.
Mutua testified that after meeting Aaron outside the OCS office, they proceeded inside to inspect the station’s Digital Video Recorder (DVR) and other surveillance equipment.
During the inspection, investigators discovered that the DVR had been disconnected from its power supply.
After directing Aaron to reconnect the system, Mutua conducted a forensic examination of the DVR logs. He told the court that the analysis established the recording device had been deliberately formatted at 7:30:14 a.m. on June 8, 2025, while it was located inside the OCS office.
Despite the formatting of the recording system, Mutua testified that forensic recovery techniques enabled investigators to retrieve critical CCTV footage from both Central Police Station and Mbagathi Hospital, preserving evidence relevant to the movements and interactions involving police officers and the deceased.
He further informed the court that he prepared and signed a forensic exhibit report on June 9, 2025, documenting the seizure of the DVR and detailing its tampered condition.
According to Mutua, the recovered CCTV footage showed that Albert Ojwang appeared alive and responsive when he arrived at Central Police Station and throughout the period he remained in custody.
However, later footage presented in court allegedly showed him being removed from the station while unresponsive.
The prosecution argues that the recovered surveillance footage and forensic analysis are central to establishing the sequence of events leading to Ojwang’s death and the alleged efforts to interfere with evidence after the incident.
The hearing continues, with Mutua expected to conclude his testimony before additional prosecution witnesses take the stand.
The case is one of the country’s most closely watched criminal trials, with several police officers facing murder charges over Ojwang’s death while in custody. All the accused have denied the charges.