NAIROBI, Kenya— The case surrounding the death of blogger and teacher Albert Ojwang has taken a sharp turn, with the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) confirming the arrest of three civilians who were detained at Nairobi’s Central Police Station at the time Ojwang was held—and later died under suspicious circumstances.
The trio—Gin Ammitou Abwao, Collins Karani Ireri, and Brian Mwaniki Njue—are accused of being more than just fellow detainees.
The three are believed to have been weaponized by police officers to carry out the actual torture that led to Ojwang’s death inside the cells. It’s a stunning twist in an already murky investigation that has exposed deep cracks in police accountability.
What’s more damning? The suspects were quietly released just days after Ojwang’s death. But on Sunday, they were re-arrested and are now being held at Kilimani, Muthangari, and Kileleshwa police stations, away from each other.
They’re expected to appear in court Monday, alongside Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Samson Taalam, the senior cop on duty the night of Ojwang’s death and now the prime suspect in the case.
Their lawyer has cried foul, arguing that the three were initially held on a miscellaneous application, then released without formal charges—only to be rounded up again amid growing public outrage.
But the investigation is far from over.
IPOA says it has retrieved crucial CCTV footage, parts of which had allegedly been deleted in what investigators suspect was a botched cover-up.
The footage reportedly captures segments of the hours leading up to Ojwang’s final moments and is now being forensically reconstructed—frame by frame, hour by hour—from more than 36 hours of surveillance data.
Still at large are two more police officers believed to have played a role in the aftermath. Among them is Deputy OCS Samuel Ng’ang’a, who IPOA says was on duty the fateful night Ojwang met his death.
As investigators dig deeper, Ojwang’s family continues to wrestle with grief and unanswered questions.
His widow, Nevenina Onyango, has been vocal about the chilling phone call she received from her husband on the night of his death.
He had been transferred from Homa Bay to Nairobi, and his tone, she recalls, had shifted from calm to terrified.
“I never believed such a thing could happen to me,” she said. “Albert was asking if he was safe because he wasn’t sure.”
The family is now demanding full transparency, faster prosecutions, and most importantly—justice.
Because while nothing will bring Ojwang back, they say, the truth must be louder than the silence that tried to bury it.
