- Washington Booker Ojukwu was arrested after he differed with an M-Pesa agent at the Buruburu shopping centre.
- He claimed to have withdrawn Sh7,000 which he never collected but the attendant insisted Ojukwu had taken his cash and left.
Image: The Star
IPOA has launched investigations into the circumstances that led to the death of a businessman while in police custody in Buruburu, Nairobi on Thursday evening.
Washington Booker Ojukwu was arrested after he differed with an M-Pesa agent at the Buruburu shopping centre.
He claimed to have withdrawn Sh7,000 which he never collected but the attendant insisted Ojukwu had taken his cash and left.
Investigations are seeking to establish what transpired with preliminary reports indicating Ojukwu died in the hands of the police before his body was taken to Mama Lucy Hospital mortuary.
Witnesses claimed the deceased was beaten by two police officers.
Nairobi police boss Adamson Bungei said they were investigating the incident.
“We don’t know what caused the death for now. Let us wait for autopsy to say all,” Bungei said.
Ojukwu, according to a message, withdrew Sh7,000 from the M-Pesa agent at 1.42pm on Thursday.
The agent said she gave the cash to Ojukwu who was accompanied by a mechanic and they left.
She reported that the man, who is well known to him for years appeared intoxicated. He returned and demanded the cash insisting he hadn't collected it.
A commotion ensued and the agent called officers from the Buruburu Community policing booth, located about 30 metres from the shop.
The officers came and took Ojukwu to the police booth. The deceased protested asking why he was being arrested.
“A long the way, he resisted and firmly held onto a metallic post, a few metres from the booth, prompting the officers to use some force,” a witness said.
One of the deceased’s friends said they could hear someone screaming from the booth but they never imagined it was him.
“We however suspected there was something wrong when a police vehicle came and reversed too close to the booth’s door and officers blocked the locals from coming close to the booth,” a witness said.
A tea girl who had served the officers was also blocked from getting into the booth when she went back to collect the cups.
The locals believe the deceased died while in the hands of the police.
The family has engaged the Independent Medico-Legal Unit to help them in pursuing the matter. Police are supposed to report such death to Independent Policing Oversight Authority who said they had launched a probe into the incident.
However, in most cases it is the victim’s family that informed the oversight bodies, as police try to hide such deaths.