OCS Samson Talaam's absence in court during the mention of his case on July 1, 2025, at the Milimani Law Courts sparked a face-off between his lawyers and the prosecution team.
The session was intended for the prosecution to brief the court on the progress made so far in the investigations.
The matter came before Senior Principal Magistrate Ben Mark Ekhubi.
Defence counsel Danstan Omari informed the court that Talaam is currently in police custody, hence his absence.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) applied for 14 more days to allow their investigators to file a report.
Omari, however, objected to proceeding without the accused present in court.
He argued that the information should be conveyed in the presence of the respondent and not merely through advocates.
“We can take their allocation to produce the respondent,” Omari told the court.
The prosecution responded by stating that they required a court order to produce Talaam, which had not been issued, making it impossible to present him in court on the day of mention.
Omari insisted that unless the respondent was being held in a prison outside the country, there was no justifiable reason for the delay.
“He is within the prisons of Kenya and is anxious to know what’s happening,” Omari said.
The IPOA investigating officer, through submissions, explained that he was attending to an ongoing trial in Kajiado on the same day and did not anticipate that the defence would request Talaam’s physical presence.
Omari, in rebuttal, questioned the absence further.
“Is the person alive? Why is this going on? Let the person appear on Thursday,” he said. “If the investigating officer is not present, we can proceed virtually. We have no problem, but we are thirsty to see if our client is alive.”
Co-defence counsel Stanley Kang’ai requested the court to push the matter to July 8, citing other reasons.
Magistrate Ekhubi adjourned the case and scheduled the next mention for July 8, 2025, for further directions.
Talaam is under investigation for his alleged involvement in the murder of Albert Ojwang while in custody at the Central Police Station.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority successfully filed a miscellaneous application seeking to detain Talaam for an additional 21 days.
According to an affidavit sworn by IPOA senior investigations officer Abdirahman Jibril, Talaam is accused of planning, directing, and attempting to conceal the fatal assault on Ojwang.
The affidavit alleges Talaam maintained communication with Officer James Mukhwana, who had access to the cells.
It further stated that Talaam’s release could have interfered with witnesses and compromised investigations due to his influence within the police service.
IPOA also cited concerns over public unrest and safety as additional grounds for his continued detention.
Talaam was arrested on June 13, 2025.
Ojwang had earlier been arrested on June 7 following a complaint by Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat over online posts.
Talaam remains in police custody.
