NAIROBI, Kenya – Tensions flared on Tuesday outside the Nairobi Funeral Home as Homa Bay Woman Representative Joyce Atieno, popularly known as Bensouda, was forced out by a group of agitated activists following the release of a postmortem report on the death of blogger and teacher Albert Ojwang.
Atieno, who had arrived to console the family of the late Ojwang, found herself at the centre of a storm.
Eyewitnesses say the activists confronted her moments after the autopsy findings were made public, demanding that she leave the premises immediately.
What began as a condolence visit quickly escalated into a dramatic ejection, with mourners and onlookers caught in the chaos.
The scene outside the mortuary underscored the deepening public anger and mistrust surrounding Ojwang’s death in police custody.
Ojwang, a vocal social media commentator from Homa Bay, died at Nairobi’s Central Police Station on June 7, allegedly just an hour after he was booked in.
A postmortem conducted Tuesday revealed he suffered head injuries, neck compression, and multiple soft tissue injuries spread across his body—findings that directly contradict the police’s initial explanation that he died after hitting his head on a cell wall.
“He had head and neck injuries, and there were other multiple injuries consistent with assault,” said government pathologist Dr Bernard Midia, who led the autopsy. “These are unlikely to be self-inflicted injuries.”
Midia explained that the pattern of trauma on Ojwang’s head did not match injuries that would be expected from hitting a wall.
“The bleeds we found on the scalp and skin were spaced, including on the face, sides of the head, and back of the head,” he said. “If someone hits themselves on a wall, you would see frontal bleeding. That was not the case.”
Ojwang’s arms and torso also bore bruises and soft tissue injuries, further pointing to a physical assault.
The autopsy was conducted in the presence of the family’s independent pathologist, Mutuma Zambezi.
Both experts ruled out any suggestion that the injuries could have been self-inflicted.
Ojwang’s death has ignited a wave of outrage across the country, with human rights groups and political leaders calling for accountability.
The confrontation involving Atieno has added another layer to the tension, as questions continue to swirl about who bears responsibility.
Calls are mounting for an independent inquiry into the incident, as the family and the public demand transparency and justice.
