At least ten police officers based at the Central police
station in Nairobi have been grilled by the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) in a
parallel probe over their conduct before and after the death of Albert Ojwang
at the station cells.
The agency wants to understand what happened before and
after the incident on June 7.
IAU investigates general police conduct and recommends to
various bodies, including the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, on
the way forward.
The officers, including those who were on duty when the
incident was reported, were summoned to the IAU offices for statement recording
on Friday and through the weekend.
The IAU was petitioned to launch the probe after it emerged
some police officers were involved in the assault of Ojwang and a cover-up
exercise.
Officials at the IAU offices said their investigations are
ongoing and they will make various recommendations to the Inspector General of
police and ODPP.
This came after it emerged the police station commanders had misled their bosses on what happened from the time Ojwang was brought to the
station.
Police said the Nairobi Central Officer Commanding Station, Samson Talam, was trailed and arrested on Friday after a dramatic hunt.
Police alleged that Talam had switched off his mobile phones
since Thursday amid a hunt for him.
His family, however, dismissed claims that he had gone missing, saying he cooperated fully with authorities and later surrendered himself
voluntarily to the DCI.
The family said at no time did Talam switch off his phone, adding that he was in constant communication with his colleagues.
Another female police officer targeted in the case was found
and questioned for the better part of Friday ahead of a planned arrangement.
Talam has been regarded as a prime suspect in the murder case.
This is after a number of suspects and witnesses adversely mentioned
his name in the saga.
He, through his lawyer Danstan Omari, has denied the claims.
He is expected to be presented in court on Monday, June 16.
Ojwang was arrested in his Homa Bay home over claims of
false publication and brought to Nairobi, where he was booked and later
clobbered to death.
He died on June 8, hours after his arrest and detention in
the cells.
Among those in custody so far are two police officers
and a technician who tampered with the CCTV camera system at the station.
The detectives, backed by IPOA, arrested a technician who installed a CCTV camera system at the station.
The technician is the same one who was called to delete and
format the system after the murder of Ojwang.
He has admitted his involvement in the mission and added he
was paid Sh3,000 for the work.
IPOA was allowed to detain police officer James Mukhwana for
a week as investigations continue into the death of Ojwang.
In an application filed at the Milimani Law Courts, IPOA
said initial findings indicate that Mukhwana, together with other officers yet
to be arrested, was involved in the fatal assault on Ojwang' inside the cells
at Central Police Station.
IPOA further alleged a cover-up attempt, claiming that CCTV
footage at the station may have been tampered with to conceal the incident.
