As the investigation into the controversial death of digital activist Albert Ojwang intensifies, the interdicted Nairobi Central Police Station’s Officer Commanding Station (OCS), Samson Talam, was on Friday arrested after a day-long manhunt ended in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) confirmed the arrest, stating that Talam had switched off his mobile phone on Thursday to evade detectives as the probe closed in.
He was eventually tracked, apprehended, and handed over to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), which is leading the investigation into the custodial death that has sparked national outrage and public protests.
Talam’s arrest brings the number of individuals currently in custody in connection with the case to three, including two police officers and a CCTV technician accused of attempting to cover up the incident.
The arrest follows DCI Director Mohamed Amin’s confirmation to the Senate that Talam is the primary suspect in what authorities are now formally treating as a homicide.
“By the totality of things, he should be treated as the prime suspect in this matter,” Amin told Senators during a session convened to discuss the growing national concern over police abuse and extrajudicial killings.
Amin further revealed that Talam had declined to formally book Ojwang into the station’s custody upon his arrival from Homa Bay.
“It has further been confirmed that before the booking, the report office personnel called the OCS, who declined to book the suspect,” Amin disclosed.
Ojwang was arrested on Friday, June 7, in Homa Bay on allegations of publishing false information and was transferred over 350 kilometres to Nairobi, where he was briefly held at Central Police Station.
He later died while in custody. Initial police statements claimed that Ojwang inflicted injuries on himself by hitting a wall.
However, a postmortem conducted by a panel of five government pathologists found evidence of blunt force trauma to the head, neck compression, and multiple soft tissue injuries, contradicting the official narrative.
The forensic report concluded that the pattern of injuries was inconsistent with self-harm and pointed instead to assault.
Further damning revelations emerged as IPOA investigators expanded their probe.
At least 23 individuals, including 17 police officers and six civilians, have been questioned as suspects or witnesses. Among those detained is a technician contracted to maintain the police station’s surveillance system.
He confessed to being paid Ksh 3,000 to delete CCTV footage from the night Ojwang died.
According to IPOA, some officers initially questioned in the case have since returned to revise their statements, now admitting that the fatal assault took place inside the police cells.
Investigators are currently searching for the riot baton allegedly used in the beating.
Separately, Constable James Mukhwana, another officer linked to the case, is being held at Capitol Hill Police Station after IPOA obtained a seven-day custodial order from the Milimani Law Courts.
In court filings, the oversight authority argued that releasing the suspect posed a risk to the integrity of the investigation, citing concerns about witness interference, evidence tampering, and the need for forensic phone analysis and pending chemistry lab results.
A female officer attached to the same station was also questioned for several hours on Friday and is expected to face further interrogation as the investigation progresses.
The arrest of OCS Talam marks a critical turning point in the case, as investigators begin to piece together a picture of what human rights groups are calling a coordinated custodial cover-up.
IPOA has vowed to ensure a transparent and thorough inquiry, while the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is expected to review evidence for possible charges, including murder and conspiracy to defeat justice.
