A CCTV analysis presented before the Kibera High Court on Tuesday has revealed that teacher Albert Ojwang was removed from Central Police Station while unresponsive, contrary to a National Police Service statement that officers noticed his injuries and rushed him to Mbagathi Hospital.
In a statement on June 8, 2025, NPS said Ojwang sustained head injuries after hitting his head against the cell wall and that officers on duty promptly rushed him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
“While in custody, the suspect sustained head injuries after hitting his head against the cell wall. Police officers on duty promptly noticed the injuries and rushed him to Mbagathi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival,” NPS said then.
However, evidence presented by Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) Head of Forensics Joshua Mutua showed otherwise.
Mutua, a video investigations specialist, testified that the recovered CCTV footage showed Ojwang appeared alive and responsive when he arrived at the police station and during the period he remained in custody.
He further told the court that later footage showed the deceased being removed from the station while unresponsive.
Using images displayed in court, he explained the layout of the station and identified locations covered by various cameras, including the main gate, report office, holding bay, search office, cells, corridors and the Officer Commanding Station’s (OCS) office.
“I documented the scene as it was,” Mutua told the court.
He noted that his investigations began on June 9, 2025, when he visited Central Police Station alongside fellow investigator Naphtali Nduhi to examine the CCTV system.
He said before visiting the station, he contacted a technician identified as Dan, whose details had been provided by a records officer. However, Dan was unavailable and referred him to another technician, Aaron, who had taken part in installing the station’s CCTV system in 2024.
According to Mutua, he met Aaron outside the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) office before entering the office to examine the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) and other surveillance equipment.
He told the court that he photographed the CCTV installation and found that the DVR had been disconnected from the power supply.
“When we realised there was no signal on the screen, we checked the power supply to the DVR and confirmed that the power cables had been disconnected,” he testified.
After directing Aaron to reconnect the system, Mutua said he carried out a forensic examination of the DVR logs.
He testified that the analysis showed the recording device had been deliberately formatted at 7:30:14 a.m. on June 8, 2025, while it was located inside the OCS office.
Despite the formatting of the DVR, Mutua told the court that forensic recovery methods helped investigators retrieve CCTV footage from Central Police Station and Mbagathi, capturing movements and interactions involving police officers and Ojwang.
He said playback analysis for the previous seven days showed no recordings, while DVR logs indicated that the storage drives had been changed and formatted hours after Ojwang was booked at the station.
The court heard that IPOA experts recovered about 489 gigabytes of deleted footage, which showed Ojwang arriving at Central Police Station on June 7, 2025, at about 9:00 pm in good physical condition.
The footage captured him walking unaided and making phone calls before he was later seen being carried out of the station.
Mutua told the court that Ojwang was taken to a cell by four people, including police officers James Mukhwana, John Ngige and two unidentified men, at about 10:45 pm. The two unidentified men were wearing hooded jackets or caps that concealed their identities.
The footage also showed former Central Police Station commander Samson Tallam and officers including Mukhwana, Peter Kimani, Samuel Nganga and Evelyne Kanyiri moving around and interacting at different locations before and after Ojwang’s arrival.
Mukhwana was captured entering and leaving the OCS office several times before appearing to conduct a handover at the holding area where suspects were called out one by one.
Mutua testified that Ojwang arrived at the station in good physical condition and was later seen making phone calls before being escorted to the report office by two men.
The footage showed him being handcuffed and taken further inside the station, while Mukhwana was seen receiving and using a phone handed to him by a DCI officer.
The witness said investigators also recovered CCTV footage from Mbagathi Hospital showing Ojwang’s transfer after he was removed from Central Police Station. He told the court that the recovered footage showed Ojwang was alive and responsive while at the station before he was later removed while unresponsive.
The accused persons in the murder trial include former Central Police Station commander Samson Tallam, police officers James Mukhwana and Peter Kimani, former GSU officer John Ngige, Jim Ambao and Brian Njue.
The prosecution alleges that the accused officers participated in Ojwang’s killing and attempted to conceal the incident by interfering with evidence.
The hearing continues.
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