National Police Service spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga is under renewed scrutiny following the recovery of CCTV footage showing Albert Ojwang’s final hours at Nairobi Central Police Station.
The footage contradicts the account Nyaga issued after the blogger and teacher died in police custody on June 8, 2025.
“NPS confirms that Albert Omondi Ojwang was lawfully arrested by DCI detectives for false publication and placed in custody,” Nyaga’s statement read.
“While in custody, the suspect sustained head injuries after hitting his head against the cell wall.”
Nyaga also reported that officers promptly noticed Ojwang’s injuries and rushed him to Mbagathi Hospital.
That account has now collapsed under medical, forensic and video evidence.
CCTV destroys official police account
Evidence presented before the High Court shows Ojwang arriving at Central Police Station alive and in good physical condition.
He walked without assistance and made telephone calls. Hours later, officers were captured carrying him from the cells while he appeared unresponsive.
Independent Policing Oversight Authority investigators recovered about 489 gigabytes of footage from the station’s recorder. The system had reportedly been formatted and disconnected.
Police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga
Prosecutors maintain that the interference formed part of an attempt to conceal Ojwang’s killing. A witness told the court that instructions were issued to erase recordings covering the relevant dates.
The post-mortem examination also rejected Nyaga’s account.
Government pathologist Bernard Midia found head injuries, neck compression and widespread soft-tissue trauma. He concluded that the injuries were consistent with assault and unlikely to have been self-inflicted.
Inspector-General Douglas Kanja later withdrew the original police narrative.
“It is not true that he hit his head against the wall,” Kanja told the Senate before apologising for the misinformation. The Star
Six people are facing murder charges. They have denied the charges, and their trial remains active.
Lagat complaint started police operation
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Eliud Lagat also remains central to the case’s origins.
Lagat filed a formal complaint on June 4, 2025, over social-media posts he described as “continuous false and malicious publications.”
That complaint triggered Ojwang’s apprehension at his Homa Bay home and transfer to Nairobi. He died shortly afterwards.
Lagat denied involvement in the death and temporarily stepped aside during investigations. He is not among the six people currently facing murder charges. Reuters
The recovered footage now demands accountability beyond the courtroom.
Nyaga signed and circulated a false account before investigators or pathologists had established how Ojwang died.
Whether he authored the narrative or repeated information supplied by Central Police Station, he placed the authority of the National Police Service behind it.
His continued stay as police spokesperson is therefore difficult to defend.
Nyaga should resign or be removed pending an independent investigation into who prepared, approved and released the discredited statement.
