The High Court in Kibera on Tuesday heard fresh testimony in the ongoing murder trial over the death of detainee Albert Ojwang, with prosecutors presenting three witnesses, including two under witness protection, as they sought to establish the events surrounding the alleged deletion of crucial CCTV footage from Central Police Station.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), led by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Jalso Makori alongside Wangui Gichuhi and Duncan Ondimu, presented the witnesses before Lady Justice Diana Kavedza.
The six accused persons are former Central Police Station Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Samson Kiprotich Talaam, James Mukhwana, Peter Kimani, John Ngige Gitau, Gin Ammitou Abwao and Brian Mwaniki Njue. They are facing charges linked to the death of Albert Ojwang while he was in police custody.
A protected witness, identified only as DAN, told the court that they installed the station’s CCTV surveillance system in 2024. The witness testified that on June 8, 2025, they were summoned to the station and instructed to erase CCTV footage recorded on June 6 and June 7.
According to DAN, selectively deleting footage for those dates was technically impossible, requiring the entire Digital Video Recorder (DVR) to be formatted instead.
“I confirmed that the recordings for the two dates existed before formatting the DVR, but I did not view the footage,” the witness testified.
DAN further told the court that after completing the task, the first accused, Talaam, allegedly paid them Ksh3,000. The witness also claimed they were later instructed to purchase two hard disks for the station, receiving Ksh20,000 in cash, although they were eventually informed the devices were no longer needed.
The court also heard that the witness was arrested by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) on June 13, 2025, before recording a statement. During the hearing, DAN identified the accused, the DVR and two sealed hard disks produced as exhibits.
A second prosecution witness, CCTV technician Aaron Okwako, testified that he visited Central Police Station on June 9, 2025, after being requested to inspect the surveillance system. He said he found IPOA officers already at the station and discovered that the DVR had been disconnected from its power supply.
Okwako told the court that once power was restored, the system resumed recording but the footage sought by investigators could not be recovered.
“From my technical assessment, the DVR had most likely been formatted rather than selectively edited, making recovery of the recordings impossible,” he testified.
The third witness, a protected records officer identified as AA, testified that they reported for duty on the morning of June 8 and were informed by the OCS that a detainee had died in the police cells.
The witness further stated that after reviewing CCTV footage alongside the Deputy OCS, they observed Police Constable Kimani accompanied by two unidentified individuals walking towards the last cell before later emerging while carrying what appeared to be a heavy object.
“I could not identify the object they were carrying,” the witness told the court.
The prosecution maintains that the testimonies form part of its evidence in the case surrounding Ojwang’s death. The trial is scheduled to continue on July 21, 2026, as the prosecution calls additional witnesses.
