A family has been left grieving after their relative died while in police custody, just hours after his arrest, raising fresh questions about what happens behind cell doors in Kenya.
The 23-year-old boda boda rider was arrested and taken to the Kawangware police station in Nairobi at around 7 pm on Thursday, December 11, 2025.
Four hours later, at 10:50pm, his body was booked into City Mortuary.
According to the police, he allegedly died by suicide using a T-shirt while alone in his cell.
However, the family disputes this account, insisting that the body was still wearing the same clothes as when he was arrested.
According to reports, the T-shirt supposedly used in the alleged suicide has not yet been produced.
A mark on the victim's neck, however, suggests the possible use of a wire to strangle him, according to family members.
The young man leaves behind a two-year-old daughter.
This tragic incident comes barely six months after the death of Albert Ojwang, a Kenyan blogger and teacher who died in police custody in June 2025.
Ojwang was arrested on June 7, 2025, in Homa Bay over alleged derogatory posts on X and transferred to Nairobi Central Police Station. He was found unconscious in a cell the next day and pronounced dead at Mbagathi Hospital.
Police initially claimed he hit his head against a wall, but an autopsy revealed severe head injuries, neck compression, and assault wounds. The Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja later apologized and retracted the initial account, leading to the arrest of multiple officers.
A report released by the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) on December 10, 2025, revealed that 97 people were killed by police this year alone.
Of these, 18 died in custody, 72 cases involved torture or ill-treatment, 49 were protest-related injuries, and five were enforced disappearances.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has launched investigations into both cases, but families continue to demand answers and justice.
