Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga has urged Police Headquarters to take immediate action following the death of social media influencer Albert Omondi Ojwang, who was found dead in a cell at Nairobi’s Central Police Station over the weekend.
In a forceful statement, the former prime minister called for full accountability and an urgent, credible investigation into the circumstances of Ojwang’s death.
“So far, nobody knows who gave the orders for Mr. Ojwang to be arrested and ferried all the way to Nairobi, and yet that person should be answering to Kenyans,” Odinga said, questioning the legality of Ojwang’s arrest in Homa Bay on June 7, 2025, and his subsequent transfer over 350 kilometres to Nairobi.
Ojwang, a 31-year-old teacher, was detained for allegedly posting false information about a senior police officer on social media platform X.
Odinga described Ojwang’s death as “senseless” and indicative of a deepening crisis within the National Police Service (NPS).
He highlighted a growing gap in accountability, noting that the incident has sparked widespread outrage among leaders, human rights organisations, and the public over police conduct and extrajudicial killings.
“When citizens can no longer tell the difference between police injustice and mob injustice, we are staring at the reality of failure as a nation,” he warned.
The ODM leader pointed out that Ojwang’s death adds to a troubling list of young Kenyans who have died under suspicious circumstances while in police custody.
A postmortem conducted on June 10, 2025, by five pathologists led by Dr. Bernard Midia and Dr. Njoroge revealed that Ojwang died from severe head injuries caused by blunt force trauma, with additional injuries to his head, neck, limbs, and body, contradicting police claims of suicide.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja has interdicted the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) at Nairobi Central Police Station, along with other officers linked to the incident, pending an investigation by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).
However, Odinga stressed that more must be done to identify and hold accountable those who ordered the arrest and to address systemic issues within the NPS.
