CCTV shows Ojwang’s body at Mbagathi Hospital, police delayed 24 minutes before alerting doctors

A 40-minute CCTV recording from Mbagathi Hospital has exposed damning delays by police officers in seeking urgent medical help for blogger and teacher Albert Ojwang, who was brought in unresponsive and later confirmed dead on arrival.

The footage, obtained by Citizen TV, closely matches earlier findings in the hospital’s official incident report, which stated that Ojwang had no vital signs when he arrived at the facility from Nairobi’s Central Police Station in the early hours of June 8.

The video begins with a police van pulling into Mbagathi Hospital’s parking lot at exactly 1:35 am.

Three officers were inside, two exited the vehicle and appeared to engage in a brief conversation before heading toward the casualty section. The third officer, identified as the driver, followed them slowly.

Phone call

As they approached the entrance, one officer received a phone call, prompting the group to step back outside. The officer remained on the phone for about three minutes before all three re-entered the building.

During this entire period, Ojwang remained unattended in the back of the police van, despite reports that he had been brought in a critical condition. No officer checked on him.

At 1:40 am, two officers are seen walking through the hospital corridors, apparently in search of medical staff. Six minutes later, they reappeared pushing a stretcher. With the help of a hospital security guard, they proceed to the police van.

However, it took them another 10 minutes to finally move Ojwang from the vehicle onto the stretcher. The officers are seen wheeling him into the emergency room at 1:59 am, 24 minutes after they arrive at the hospital.

Inside the casualty section, Ojwang remained for only 10 minutes.

At 2:10 am, the same officers were captured on CCTV leaving the room with his body.

By 2:15 am, they had loaded the body back into the police van and left the facility, reportedly en route to the City Mortuary after notifying the Kenyatta National Hospital Police Post.

Unresponsive, cold

A report prepared by the medical officer on duty at the time painted a grim picture of Ojwang’s condition upon arrival.

“The male patient was unresponsive, had no spontaneous breathing, and his entire body was cold,” read the report.

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• police delayed 24 minutes before alerting doctors

The document further detailed the physical condition of the deceased.

“His face was swollen. There were multiple bruises on the body and limbs. Blood was oozing from the head, mouth, and eyes. The parieto-occipital region at the back of the head had a cut. There was no cardiac activity.”

The hospital concluded that Ojwang was “brought in dead.”

Nurses on duty also reportedly confirmed that all vital signs were absent.

In line with standard procedure, the Patient Brought In Dead Notification of Death form was completed. It listed Central Police Station as the place of death, contradicting earlier police statements that Ojwang was found unresponsive in his cell and rushed to the hospital for urgent treatment.

Medical evidence

The official police version had suggested that Ojwang injured himself by hitting his head against a wall, but this narrative is now undermined by both the CCTV footage and medical evidence pointing to extensive trauma.

Ojwang had been arrested by detectives in Homa Bay County over a controversial social media post and transferred to Central Police Station in Nairobi. He died just hours after his transfer.

Meanwhile, interdicted Central Police Station OCS Samson Talaam, who is currently being held at Lang’ata Police Station, has denied being present at the station when Ojwang was booked. His legal team claims he had already handed over duties.

“He handed over all instruments of office, including the communication pocket phone, to his deputy,” the lawyers said.

“We will produce CCTV footage to prove he was not at Central Police Station.”

They have dismissed allegations that Talaam interfered with CCTV systems at the station and have vowed to move to the High Court to challenge his prosecution, terming the charges as an attempt to frame him.

On Friday, another suspect was arrested in connection with the alleged deletion of CCTV footage at the police station. The individual was picked up in a targeted operation at his residence in a Nairobi estate.

The emerging evidence continues to raise serious questions about the circumstances of Ojwang’s death, police accountability, and the apparent lack of urgency in handling a life-threatening situation.