The murder trial of former Nairobi Central Police Station OCS Samson Talaam and five others has taken a dramatic turn. The High Court has viewed CCTV footage detailing the final hours of blogger and teacher Albert Omondi Ojwang.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) recovered the footage after it was allegedly deleted. It tracks the movements inside the station on the night of June 8, 2025. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) maintains that Ojwang was murdered while in custody.
Midnight Visitors
A protected witness guided the court through the surveillance frames. The footage shows Ojwang arriving at the station alive and in good health. However, the mood changed late into the night.
The video shows two unidentified men entering the cell block area. Police Constable Kimani escorted them. The officer is seen locking the entrance behind them.
The two men then walked towards the last cell where Ojwang was being held. Shortly after, a third person joined them from the searching area.
A Heavy Burden
The blow-by-blow account continued with a disturbing sequence. The witness pointed out a moment where three individuals moved together towards Ojwang’s cell. They appeared to be struggling with an object.
“The three are seen carrying something that seemed to be heavy towards the last cell,” the witness told the court. This movement happened in the hours leading up to the discovery of Ojwang’s body.
Minutes later, the two unidentified men were captured leaving the cell area. They appeared to be hiding their faces from the cameras. They lowered their heads and adjusted their caps as they walked beneath the surveillance lenses.
The Four-Minute Deletion
The court also heard how the evidence almost disappeared. A CCTV technician testified that OCS Samson Talaam summoned him to the station. He was allegedly instructed to format the hard drive to remove the footage.
The technician told the court that he completed the deletion in less than four minutes. He claimed the OCS paid him 3,000 shillings in cash for the task. Later, he was paid another 20,000 shillings to procure a new video storage device to replace the original.
The Prosecution’s Case
The DPP argues that these recordings prove the death was a deliberate act rather than an accident. Medical evidence indicates Ojwang died from blunt force trauma and neck compression.
This contradicts the initial police claim that the teacher died by hitting his head against a wall. The six accused persons have all pleaded not guilty. The trial continues as the court examines the responsibility of each officer involved.
