NAIROBI, Kenya- The murder trial of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang continued at the Kibera High Court on Tuesday, with the court hearing crucial CCTV evidence presented by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) that contradicts the National Police Service’s initial explanation of how Ojwang died while in custody.
Joshua Mutua, IPOA’s Head of Forensics and a video investigations specialist, testified that forensic analysis of recovered CCTV footage showed Ojwang arrived at Nairobi’s Central Police Station on June 7, 2025, at about 9:00 p.m. in good physical condition.
According to the footage, he walked into the station without assistance, appeared alert and responsive, and was even seen making phone calls before being processed.
This account sharply contrasts with the National Police Service’s statement issued on June 8, 2025, which claimed Ojwang sustained fatal head injuries after allegedly hitting his head against a police cell wall.
At the time, police stated that officers noticed his injuries and rushed him to Mbagathi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
During his testimony, Mutua explained that his investigations began on June 9 when he visited Central Police Station alongside fellow investigator Naphtali Nduhi.
Before the visit, he contacted a technician identified as Dan, who referred him to another technician, Aaron, one of the individuals involved in installing the station’s CCTV system in 2024.
Upon entering the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) office, investigators found that the Digital Video Recorder (DVR), which stores CCTV footage, had been disconnected from its power source.
“When we realised there was no signal on the screen, we checked the power supply to the DVR and confirmed that the power cables had been disconnected,” Mutua testified.
After reconnecting the system, IPOA conducted a forensic examination of the DVR logs. The analysis revealed that the recording device had been deliberately formatted at 7:30:14 a.m. on June 8, 2025, just hours after Ojwang had been detained.
Mutua further told the court that the DVR logs showed the storage drives had been changed and formatted, while playback for the previous seven days showed no recordings. Despite this apparent attempt to erase evidence, forensic specialists successfully recovered approximately 489 gigabytes of deleted CCTV footage.
The recovered footage reconstructed Ojwang’s final hours in police custody.
According to the evidence presented in court, Ojwang was escorted deeper into the station after arriving, where he was handcuffed and later taken to the holding area. At approximately 10:45 p.m., CCTV footage showed four individuals—including police officers James Mukhwana, John Ngige, and two unidentified men whose faces were concealed by hooded jackets or caps—taking him to a cell.
The footage also captured movements of several officers within the station, including former Central Police Station commander Samson Tallam, officers Peter Kimani, Samuel Nganga, and Evelyne Kanyiri. Mukhwana was seen entering and leaving the OCS office several times before appearing to conduct a handover at the holding area.
One sequence presented to the court showed a DCI officer handing a mobile phone to Mukhwana, who then used it while Ojwang was being processed.
Mutua testified that while Ojwang was clearly alive and responsive throughout the early stages of his detention, later footage showed him being removed from the station while unresponsive, directly contradicting the police narrative that officers discovered him injured inside his cell and rushed him to hospital.
Investigators also recovered CCTV footage from Mbagathi Hospital, documenting Ojwang’s arrival after he had been transported from Central Police Station.
The prosecution argues that the recovered footage supports allegations that Ojwang died while in police custody and that efforts were subsequently made to conceal what had happened through the deletion of CCTV recordings.
The accused in the murder trial are former Central Police Station commander Samson Tallam, police officers James Mukhwana and Peter Kimani, former GSU officer John Ngige, and civilians Jim Ambao and Brian Njue. All have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Justice Diana Kavedza, who is presiding over the case, has indicated her intention to conclude the trial within six months. Despite the nationwide Law Society of Kenya (LSK) court boycott that began on July 22, lawyers representing both the prosecution and defence informed the court that they would proceed with the hearing.
The trial continues, with additional prosecution witnesses expected to testify after Mutua concludes his evidence.