The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has told the High Court that it will prove former Central Police Station OCS Samson Talaam and his five co-accused deliberately assaulted Albert Omondi Ojwang to death before allegedly attempting to cover up the circumstances of his killing.
In its opening statement at the start of the murder trial, the prosecution said Ojwang was taken to Central Police Station alive after his arrest but was found dead the following morning while in police custody.
The DPP told the court it will present evidence identifying those responsible for Ojwang’s death, explaining how the fatal assault was allegedly carried out and detailing the alleged efforts made afterwards to conceal what happened. According to the prosecution, members of Ojwang’s family will testify that he was in good physical health before his arrest. The State also intends to call the police officers who arrested and transported him to Central Police Station, as well as the pathologist who performed the post-mortem examination.
The prosecution said the medical evidence will show that Ojwang suffered injuries that were inconsistent with the initial police explanation that he died after hitting his head against a wall while in custody.
The State further told the court it will rely on CCTV experts and forensic evidence to reconstruct Ojwang’s movements inside the police station and to demonstrate alleged interference with CCTV footage following his death.
The DPP urged the court to consider the totality of the evidence, arguing that the accused persons acted both individually and jointly in an unlawful enterprise that resulted in Ojwang’s death before allegedly attempting to conceal the evidence.
The prosecution maintained that Ojwang’s death was not accidental but an intentional act, stressing that every person in police custody is entitled to protection and that law enforcement officers must be held accountable where that duty is breached.
Former Central Police Station OCS Samson Talaam and the five other accused persons have pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
