The Amnesty is demanding an urgent and independent investigation into what it believes is a targeted killing masked as a suicide.
“This was state violence, not a case of self-harm,” said Irungu Houghton, Executive Director of Amnesty International Kenya. “You do not transport a man 350 kilometres for a minor offence, isolate him in a cell, and then explain his death as suicide without raising serious alarm.”
Ojwang was arrested in Homa Bay County for allegedly publishing false information on social media, an offence classified as a misdemeanour under Kenyan law. Rather than being charged locally, he was transferred to Nairobi’s Central Police Station, where he died under suspicious circumstances.
Police claim Ojwang fatally injured himself by banging his head against a wall in the middle of the night. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a Nairobi hospital. Amnesty International has rejected this version of events and expressed concern that the incident may have been politically motivated.
“The manner of arrest, the long-distance transfer, the lack of documentation, and the isolation in custody all point to something far more troubling than official negligence. It points to intent,” Houghton said in an interview.
Amnesty has called for the Independent Policing Oversight Authority and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights to take full control of the investigation. The organisation is also urging the government to allow a United Nations led fact-finding mission to examine what appears to be a pattern of repression against online expression.
This is not the first time Amnesty has raised alarm over police conduct in digital-related cases. Houghton cited the recent case of Rose Jerotich, a software developer arrested with her children and detained for nearly four days, well beyond the legal limit, over online content. Charges against her were later dismissed.
“What we’re witnessing is the weaponisation of law enforcement against online dissent,” Houghton said. “This isn’t just about one death. It’s about a growing trend of intimidation, arbitrary arrests, and now, possibly, extrajudicial killings.”
“The death of Albert Ojwang is a tragic reminder of what happens when the rule of law is abandoned. It cannot be allowed to happen again,” Houghton said.
--ChannelAfrica--
