By Kelvin Kibet// 21 July 2026
The Albert Ojwang Murder Trial opened this week at the High Court in Kibera, with prosecutors laying out evidence they say points to a deliberate killing followed by an attempt to destroy the surveillance footage that could have captured it.
Albert Ojwang Murder Trial: Prosecution’s Opening Case
Presenting the state’s case before Justice Diana Kavedza, Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga argued that the evidence gathered shows Ojwang’s death was not accidental, but the result of a planned and deliberate plot carried out while he was in custody at Central Police Station. Prosecutors on the trial team, Gikui Gichuhi, Duncan Ondimu and Jalson Makori told the court this contradicts the original police account, which attributed Ojwang’s death to him repeatedly hitting his head against a cell wall.
According to the state, Ojwang was in good health when he was arrested at his home in Homa Bay County and driven roughly 350 km to Nairobi, following a complaint about social media posts concerning then-Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat. He was booked into Central Police Station alive on the night of June 7, 2025, and found dead the next morning.
Medical Evidence in the Albert Ojwang Murder Trial
Lead pathologist Dr. Bernard Midiai testified that the injuries were not self-inflicted. He described serious head injuries, features consistent with neck compression, and multiple soft tissue injuries spread across the body, findings the prosecution says point to an external assault rather than a fall or self-harm.
The Missing CCTV Footage
Much of the early testimony in the Albert Ojwang murder trial focused on how the station’s CCTV system was wiped in the days after Ojwang’s death.
A protected witness known in court only as “DAN,” who had installed the station’s CCTV system, testified that he was called back on June 8, 2025, and told to delete the footage from June 6 and 7. When he explained that the system couldn’t isolate specific dates for deletion, he says he was instructed to format the entire Digital Video Recorder instead, wiping the surveillance record because selectively deleting it wasn’t technically possible.
A second technician, Aloni Okwako, told the court a different part of the story. He said he was summoned to the station by his employer and found IPOA investigators already waiting, before being taken to the office of the then-OCS, where he discovered the DVR had been unplugged and was no longer working. Once he reconnected it, he confirmed the drive had already been formatted.
A third protected witness, a records officer, testified to reviewing footage before the wipe took place, describing having seen an officer and two unidentified people walking toward the cell block where Ojwang was held, later returning while carrying what witnesses could not identify.
Who Is on Trial
Six people face murder charges in this case: former Central Police Station OCS Samson Kiprotich Talaam, James Mukhwana, Peter Kimani, John Ngige Gitau, Gin Ammitou Abwao, and Brian Mwaniki Njue. All six have pleaded not guilty, and the court has not yet ruled on the allegations against them.
What’s Next in the Albert Ojwang Murder Trial
Prosecutors have said they intend to call additional forensic experts, IPOA investigators, and members of Ojwang’s family as the trial continues. The case has already drawn national attention, prompting senior police officials to step aside pending the outcome, a development we covered in our earlier report on the police leadership fallout, and follows a December 2025 hearing in which the defense said it had not yet received the CCTV evidence central to the case.
Follow our ongoing coverage of the Albert Ojwang murder trial as Justice Kavedza’s court hears further testimony from forensic and investigating witnesses in the coming weeks.
