NAIROBI: Kenya’s police chief said Monday that a man who died in custody over the weekend had been arrested for making a complaint against a senior officer.
Albert Ojwang, 31, was found unconscious in a cell in Nairobi police station on Saturday and later pronounced dead in hospital. The police said he hit his own head against the wall.
“We saw the body yesterday... (it) had a lot of injuries on the hands, the shoulder area, but the head was swollen all around the frontal part... the nose, ears... and there was a lot of blood,“ Julius Juma, lawyer for Ojwang’s family, told reporters and supporters, who had gathered outside the morgue in Nairobi on Monday.
Kenya was already on edge as it marks a year since massive protests over tax rises and corruption that triggered a police response in which at least 60 were killed.
Police Inspector General Douglas Kanja told reporters that Ojwang was arrested along with several others following a complaint by his deputy, Eliud Kipkoech Lagat.
“There was a complaint that had been launched by the (deputy inspector-general) about his name being tarnished. It is on that basis that investigations were actually being carried out because he also has a right to be protected by the same law,“ Kanja said.
Amnesty International earlier said Ojwang’s death “must be urgently, thoroughly and independently investigated”.
Kenyan authorities have been accused of a harsh crackdown on critics of the government, with more than 80 illegally detained since the June 2024 protests, according to rights groups -- some just for sharing cartoons or satirical images of President William Ruto.
Former attorney general Justin Muturi, who says his own son was illegally detained by security forces during the protests, spoke out against Ojwang’s death.
“The circumstances surrounding his death, including the alleged ‘suicide attempt’ in custody, are not just suspicious, they are outrageous,“ he wrote on X.
“They insult the intelligence of Kenyans and raise very serious questions about the conduct and accountability of our law enforcement agencies.”
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