The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) Commissioner, Boniface Samati, on Friday announced that Nairobi Central Police Station OCS, Samson Talaam, has been arrested by the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) in connection with the ongoing investigation into the death of social media personality Albert Ojwang.
Speaking during a press briefing, Samati confirmed that Talaam has since been handed over to IPOA and is expected to "be key in assisting the ongoing investigations."
Samati also noted that IPOA had recorded statements from additional witnesses, including individuals who were in custody at the station on the night Ojwang died. These accounts, he said, are crucial in reconstructing the timeline and circumstances of the incident.
"We have not completed our investigations and we are only providing the status update. We are not ruling out at this stage to say there are people we have absolved or not, the issue of high-ranking officers and shifting blame, we are taking it step by step. We are building a case," said Samati.
He further disclosed that the authority is still pursuing new leads and could make more arrests. "We have more witnesses to talk to, and we have chances of arresting more suspects. From the record, we are aware that the deceased was booked in when he was well and he was booked out when he was taken to Mbagathi," he added.
As part of the ongoing probe, IPOA has conducted a forensic sweep of the scene, collected blood samples for analysis, and retrieved CCTV Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) in an effort to recover relevant footage.
So far, three people have been arrested in connection with the case: OCS Talaam, police constable James Mukhwana—who was reportedly on duty during the incident—and a technician accused of tampering with the CCTV system.
"Mukhwana has something he knows very well because at the point when the incident happened, he was on duty," Samati remarked.
These developments follow earlier remarks by Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Mohamed Amin, who identified Talaam as the prime suspect. Amin stated that Talaam refused to process Ojwang when he was first brought to the station, raising red flags about his role in the case.
“It has further been confirmed that before the booking, the report office personnel called the OCS, and unfortunately, it is being said that (Talaam is the OCS and not the OCPD) he declined to book the suspect,” Amin told lawmakers during a Senate grilling session on June 11, 2025.
