Public outrage in kenya: after an autopsy shows a blogger was strangled while in police custody
Following the discovery of Kenyan blogger Albert Ojwang dead after being arrested at the site on Sunday, protests broke out in Nairobi on Monday and Tuesday.
When he hit his head against his cell wall, he hurt himself, the police said. However, an autopsy on Tuesday revealed that Ojwang was strangled while in police custody.
Ojwang suffered several injuries consistent with assault rather than self-harm, according to government pathologist Dr. Bernard Midia.
I discovered the injuries on Ojwang’s head when we examined the pattern of trauma. Dr. Midia stated during a press event that there would be a pattern to hitting a blunt object, such as a wall.
Fellow activists told reporters outside the Nairobi Funeral Home, where they had come to pay their condolences to the family, that Ojwang had been detained on Friday in Homa Bay, western Kenya, and driven 400 kilometers to the capital, Nairobi.
He was arrested, according to the organisation, because of a post he made on X regarding Eliud Lagat, the deputy police chief.
“What the members of the (Ojwang) family are saying is that, they have seen the body, the lawyer has also said they have seen the body, and there are more than one injury on his face,, on his hands and body, so how could he have hurt himself like that?” Actor Ndungi Githuku stated.
According to the Kenya Police, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) is investigating the event.
While they await the results of the investigations, police inspector-general Douglas Kanja stated that officers who were on duty when Ojwang passed away while in detention would also not be going back to work.
The IPOA report’s findings must be made public, and any officials found to be at fault must face full consequences, Amnesty Kenya added in a statement, adding that Ojwang’s arrest raises severe concerns.
Online outrage over Ojwang’s passing continues, and calls for protests to hold the government accountable have escalated.
Almost a year has passed since the Kenya Police killed and kidnapped several activists and protesters during the 2024 finance bill demonstrations.
Despite the removal of the proposed taxes last year, economic dissatisfaction remains strong.
