Former LSK President Faith Odhiambo/Handout
Former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo has renewed calls for accountability in the death of blogger Albert Ojwang.
Odhiambo argued that the reported deletion of CCTV footage from Central Police Station points to a broader culture of impunity within the country's policing system.
In a statement shared on X, Odhiambo said the missing footage of Ojwang's final moments in police custody is "not just about one blogger, one cell or one night" but reflects what she described as a justice system that still believes "torture can be hidden and truth can be edited out of existence."
Her remarks come as investigations into Ojwang's death continue.
According to findings cited by Odhiambo, a team of five pathologists unanimously concluded that Ojwang died from severe head trauma, neck compression and multiple soft-tissue injuries consistent with an assault.
She also noted that the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has dismissed suggestions that Ojwang died by suicide and raised concerns over interference with the station's CCTV system, further intensifying calls for accountability.
"When a police station becomes the most dangerous place for a citizen who dares to speak, Kenya's constitutional promise is turned inside out," Odhiambo said.
She added that Central Police Station, an institution expected to uphold law and order, had instead become "a crime scene", arguing that every deleted frame of CCTV footage and every missing second of evidence represents "an extra layer of violence against Albert's family and against the public's right to know".
Odhiambo further argued that Ojwang's death should not be viewed as an isolated incident. Instead, she linked it to previous cases of alleged police brutality and deaths in custody, including the killing of Baby Pendo, the shooting of protesters and alleged abductions of government critics.
"Albert's killing is not an isolated file in a court registry," she wrote, saying it belongs in a wider history of unresolved cases involving alleged abuse by security agencies.
The former LSK president maintained that meaningful justice must go beyond securing criminal convictions. She called for institutional reforms that would ensure police officers are held personally accountable for abuses committed while individuals are in custody.
She also advocated for dismissals, prosecutions, reparations for victims and stronger safeguards to prevent the destruction or tampering of evidence.
"The state bears a heightened duty of care over every person in custody," Odhiambo said, emphasising that authorities have both a legal and constitutional obligation to protect detainees.
She encouraged Kenyans to continue demanding victim-centred justice, radical transparency in policing and reforms that would ensure no officer can erase evidence faster than the public can demand answers.
Odhiambo concluded by calling for a future in which every Kenyan can walk into a police station without fearing for their life, insisting that public confidence in law enforcement can only be restored through truth, accountability and justice.
