Ojwang died in Central Police Station cell after assault

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has established that social media influencer Albert Ojwang died while in custody inside a cell at Central Police Station in Nairobi.

In a statement issued Friday, IPOA revealed preliminary findings into the death, confirming that Ojwang died on June 8, 2025, hours after he had been transferred from Homa Bay and detained in Nairobi.

Two individuals have since been arrested in connection with the death, including the OCS of Central Police Station,  Samson Talam, and a civilian.

According to the Authority’s CEO Elama Halake, investigators also discovered interference with critical surveillance footage at the station.

“The CCTV system located in the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) office had been interfered with, the DVR power cable was disconnected, the DVR logs indicated that the operating discs had been changed and formatted in 8th June 2025 at 07:28:43hrs and 07:32:29hrs,” he disclosed.

A post-mortem conducted on Ojwang’s body two days later determined the cause of death as a combination of head injuries from blunt force, neck compression, and extensive bruising across his body.

Ojwang’s arrest was linked to an ongoing investigation into an X account known as Pixel Pioneer, which Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat accused of publishing false and malicious content.

He was arrested on June 7 in Homa Bay by a team of five officers, held briefly at Mawego Police Station, and booked at Central Police Station in Nairobi later that night.

By the following day, the National Police Service issued a statement indicating that Ojwang had been rushed to Mbagathi Hospital where he was pronounced dead.