Albert Ojwang was tortured and strangled

An autopsy report of X influencer Albert Ojwang’ has exposed the lies told by authorities about the circumstances that led to his death in police custody, raising questions of a possible cover-up.

The finding that the late Ojwang was tortured and strangled, and a pathologist’s explanation that it was “unlikely” that his injuries were self-inflicted contradicted initial police reports, which have been as inconsistent as they come.

 “There were multiple soft tissue injuries spread all over the body and the trunk and lower limbs… these were injuries that were externally inflicted,” Bernard Midia, the lead pathologist, told journalists at the Nairobi Funeral Home (City Mortuary).

 Ojwang’ was arrested at their home in Kakoth Village, Kokwanyo Location, Kabondo Kasipul Constituency, on Saturday at around 1.30 pm by men who came by motorbike and identified themselves as police officers.

“They introduced themselves as police officers from different stations. One of them identified himself as Sigei. They ordered my son to put down his plate, saying he was under arrest, and then handcuffed him. 

• .

  Keep Reading

• 
  Kenya police watchdog says 20 deaths in custody in four months
• 
  Killer squad boss? Officers linked to Lagat stormed Standard Group before Ojwang murder
• 
  Two vehicles torched as protests escalate in CBD
• 
  DIG Lagat will step down if named in IPOA probe, Kanja tells MPs

“They claimed my son had insulted their boss on X (formerly Twitter). When I asked which boss they were referring to, Sigei told me to stop asking too many questions and to follow them to Mawego Police Station,” he recounted.

Midia would deconstruct a statement by police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga, who Sunday tried to imply that Ojwang’ had committed suicide by hitting himself on the wall.

 “While in custody, the suspect sustained head injuries after hitting his head against the cell wall. Police officers on duty promptly noticed the injuries and rushed him to Mbagathi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival,” Nyaga had said through a statement.

 This version would change a day later, when National Police Service Inspector General Douglas Kanja said that Ojwang was found unconscious during a daily routine checkup in the cells.

“During a routine cell inspection, Ojwang was found unconscious and immediately rushed to the Mbagathi hospital for treatment, upon arrival he was declared dead,” he revealed on Monday during a press briefing.

 According to a friend who sought anonymity, Ojwang called him at 9.48 pm on Saturday when he arrived at Central Police Station asking him whether he had ever been arrested.

The friend assured Ojwang that he had previously been held at the Industrial Area Police Station and that his stay at the central police station was not going to present insurmountable challenges. 

"There will be challenges here and there, but things will be fine. I have been to the Industrial Area, and it's one of the worst police stations in Nairobi, so you will be okay," the friend assured.

Upon visiting the station, the friend said he was not allowed to see him, and by the time he was leaving the station at 10.35 pm Ojwang had not been booked at the Occurrence Book (OB) as per the procedure.

However, when they went back to the station on Sunday morning and insisted on getting the OB number, the OCS informed them that Ojwang was booked on Saturday at 9.05pm.

The police boss, in a statement on Monday, said that the influencer was arrested on allegations of publishing false information, questioned on Saturday, and booked under OB number 136/7/6/2025 at 9:35 pm.

 The contradictions did not end there. Upon being notified of his son's death, Opiyo was informed that the body had been taken to Mbagathi mortuary, where he had been taken to hospital. Officials later confirmed that Albert had been taken to their facility but was pronounced dead on arrival and that the body was not found there.

This was contrary to the reports the father found at the city mortuary, where he had gone to search for Albert’s body. According to the records by the police at the morgue, the cause of Albert’s death was “sudden death.’

 When Opiyo finally laid eyes on his son's remains, what he saw shattered any lingering belief in the police narrative. Ojwang’s face was swollen, blood was oozing from his nose and mouth, and his arms bore multiple marks that suggested he had been physically assaulted.

“I have viewed his body and I am shocked because how I found him does not show anything similar to what the police explained to me,” Opiyo told reporters after viewing the son’s body on Sunday.

His son’s injuries told a story not of suicide but of possible violence inflicted either by officers, cellmates, or others while he was in police custody.

His face bore signs of blunt trauma, his eyes were swollen, and his skin carried signs of bruising, this did not align with the police's claim that Ojwang had repeatedly struck his head against a wall.

 For now, the family of Albert Ojwang continues to seek answers in a system that has too often failed victims of police misconduct.

Opiyo, standing outside the Nairobi Funeral Home with tears in his eyes after the postmortem, has now become the unwilling face of a growing movement demanding change.

“My son did not deserve to die like this. We want answers. We want justice,” he said.