Former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi wants police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga arrested for attempting to conceal a crime following the death of blogger Albert Ojwang while in custody at Central Police Station in Nairobi.
Ojwang was arrested in Homa Bay after being accused of publishing false information against the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Eliud Lagat.
Initially, Nyaga claimed that Ojwang died by suicide. He said the blogger hit his head on the wall several times until he became unconscious. They took him to the hospital, and he was pronounced dead on arrival, Nyaga had claimed.
However, this was before a post-mortem on Tuesday debunked the claims by the police after it emerged that the victim was tortured and strangled.
Nyaga was among the top police officers to claim that Ojwang took his own life, which is now the basis for Havi's call for his arrest and prosecution.
On Sunday, Nyaga said, "NPS confirms that Albert Omondi Ojwang was lawfully arrested by DCI detectives for false publication and placed in custody. While in custody, the suspect sustained head injuries after hitting his head against the cell wall."
Havi, who appeared on Spice FM on Wednesday morning, dismissed the chronology of events, from the arrest and death of Ojwang, as provided by the police spokesman, and accused him of giving conflicting communications shortly after.
According to the senior counsel, Nyaga was liable for concealment of a crime by claiming that Ojwang committed suicide, an assertion that the pathologist has since debunked.
"First and foremost, this communication from the police was released by the director of corporate communications, Muchiri Nyaga, who fell short of telling us that Ojwang had committed suicide," Havi said.
"He told us that he had banged his head on the wall and was found injured and unconscious and taken to the hospital, so that is false. So, starting point, Nyaga must be arrested for concealment of murder."
Besides Nyaga, Havi also joined a barrage of calls for action against the Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, and the complainant, DIG Lagat, calling for their arrests.
Havi further stated that the two would not resign despite calls from the public, but there was cause for their arrests, as Ojwang's arrest was not warranted.
"Both the IG and DIG are fully aware that there is no such offence as ‘maligning someone’s name’ under Kenyan law. Their actions are unlawful, and they should be held accountable," he stated.
Besides the bogus charges, Havi further questioned the decision by the arresting officers to drive Ojwang from Homa Bay to Central Police Station in Nairobi, over 350 kilometres from the area of his arrest, which is against Kenyan law.
According to the law, once a person is arrested, they should be held for at most 24 hours within a police station near the place of arrest, after which they should either be charged with a crime or released.
In Ojwang's case, his death came before he was even arraigned in court to be charged for reportedly defaming DIG Lagat in a social media post that has yet to be unearthed.
An autopsy report released on Tuesday, June 10, by pathologist Bernard Midia debunked claims by NPS that Ojwang's death was self-inflicted, noting that the wounds on his body were consistent with an assault from a third party.
"The cause of death is very clear. A head injury, neck compression, and we also have other injuries on other parts of the body that are pointing towards assault," Midia said.
