Two police officers, Samson Talaam—who is the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) at Central Police Station—and Constable James Mukhwana, have now gone to the High Court.

They are trying to stop their prosecution over the death of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang, who died while in police custody.

The two officers, through their lawyer Danstan Omari, argue that their arrest by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) happened too soon and did not follow the correct legal process.

According to them, the law says that an inquest must be done first to find out how someone died in police custody, and only then can arrests or criminal charges follow.

They point to Sections 385 to 388 of the Criminal Procedure Code to support this claim that might help them.

Furthermore, they believe that ignoring this legal step not only violates procedure but could also block justice from being served.

In their view, proper legal steps must be followed at all times to protect everyone’s rights.

“I wasn’t on duty”

OCS Samson Talaam insists that he was not even on duty that night Albert Ojwang was taken into custody.

He says he had already handed over responsibilities to his deputy and therefore had no involvement in what happened.

In addition, he claims his arrest was not done in the correct way.

He says a civilian officer from IPOA booked him at Lang’ata Police Station, which goes against the law that only serving police officers are allowed to do that.

On the other hand, Constable James Mukhwana was the cell guard the night Albert Ojwang was locked up.

Authorities have since held him at Capitol Hill Police Station. IPOA now wants the court to allow them to hold Mukhwana for 21 more days while they continue with investigations.

Tamper with evidence

They say they fear he might try to interfere with witnesses if released early.

However, Mukhwana’s lawyers strongly oppose the request. They argue that he has fully cooperated with investigators and voluntarily presented himself when called.

This case has sparked a strong reaction from the public. Many people are demanding full transparency, accountability, and justice for Albert Ojwang.

As the case moves forward, all eyes remain on the courts to see how the matter will be handled.

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