Police Constable James Mukhwana, attached to Nairobi’s Central Police Station, will remain in custody for 21 days as investigators from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) unravel what is shaping up to be one of the most disturbing cases of custodial death in recent memory.
Mukhwana, who served as the cell sentry on the night of June 7, 2025, is under investigation over the death of blogger and teacher Albert Omondi Ojwang, a popular digital activist known for his outspoken criticism of senior government officials, including Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat.
Senior Principal Magistrate Robinson Ondieki delivered the ruling at the Milimani Law Courts on Friday, June 20, ordering Mukhwana to be held at Capitol Hill Police Station until July 4, 2025.
“The application seeking to detain the respondent for 21 days succeeds in total. Mukhwana shall be detained for 21 days, including weekends and holidays, effective from June 13, 2025,” ruled Magistrate Ondieki.
The court granted the custodial orders after IPOA investigators, represented by Senior Assistant Director of Investigations Abdirahman Jibril, argued that the probe into Ojwang’s death was complex and ongoing.
“IPOA needs to interview other witnesses, including police officers from that station. If released, Mukhwana, being a colleague, is very likely to interfere with and influence witnesses,” Jibril submitted.
He added: “Our preliminary investigations have revealed that the respondent, together with others at the Central Police Station, brutally assaulted the deceased inside the cells, leading to his death.”
The court noted that IPOA has so far recorded two statements from Mukhwana since his arrest on June 13.
In one of the statements, Mukhwana reportedly confessed to participating in the assault and admitted that he helped orchestrate the attack.
According to IPOA’s account, Mukhwana gave a chilling confession in which he claimed that inmates were supplied with Sh2,000 worth of alcohol and directed to torture Ojwang.
He further told investigators that he was summoned on June 7 by the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Samasom Talaam and informed of a directive from Deputy IG Lagat that a suspect expected at 8:00 p.m. had to be “dealt with.”
Jibril emphasized that the suspects in the case are officers who wield significant state power and are seemingly operating under a code of silence, making it difficult to uncover the truth without extended detention of key suspects like Mukhwana.
“The respondent is a person with a lot of information, which IPOA must be given an opportunity to investigate,” added prosecutors Janson Makori and Victor Owiti, who supported the application.
The court denied Mukhwana’s bail application, noting the matter had attracted significant public interest.
In a scathing rebuke of the police’s handling of the case, Magistrate Ondieki condemned the actions of the officers involved.
“Police made a cell a morgue and used a police vehicle as a hearse to transport Ojwang’s body to City Mortuary via Mbagathi Hospital,” Magistrate Ondieki stated
He noted that upon arrival at Mbagathi, doctors examined Ojwang and pronounced him dead.
The postmortem reportedly found that Ojwang had sustained serious head injuries and trauma to his neck, which was “inflicted,” before the body was eventually transferred to the City Mortuary.
The prosecutors also revealed that Mukhwana was the officer holding the keys to the cell where Ojwang had been detained, making him central to the unfolding investigation.
According to IPOA, the events leading to Ojwang’s death were set in motion on June 4, 2025, when DIG Eliud Lagat filed a complaint alleging that he was the subject of “continuous false and malicious publications” on the X (formerly Twitter) account @PixelPioneer, operated by Ojwang.
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