Kenyan blogger's wife seeks answers after his death in police custody
FILE PHOTO: Riot police officers walk past burning vehicles during a demonstration against the death of a blogger in police custody last week, in downtown Nairobi, Kenya June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File Photo
NAIROBI - When the policemen came for Albert Ojwang - the Kenyan blogger whose death in custody sparked protests this week and prompted a rare acknowledgement of police brutality by the president - his wife initially thought he would be safe.
Unlike the dozens of political activists abducted by suspected security agents over the last year, the 31-year-old schoolteacher was taken to a police station and officers shared their phone numbers with his family.
"When they came, they were so soft. They were not violent," said Nevnine Onyango, who was present when the officers arrived, accusing her husband of insulting their "boss". "So that is what gave me even more confidence."
The next morning, a family member called with the news that Ojwang, the father of their three-year-old son, was dead.
In the week since, the blogger's death has become a lightning rod in a nation just one year removed from mass youth-led protests that were fuelled, in part, by disgust at pervasive police violence.
Hundreds protested in the capital Nairobi this week, with vehicles set ablaze and the police firing teargas. Demonstrators cited Ojwang's death as evidence that nothing had changed one year after more than 60 people were killed in demonstrations initially sparked by proposed tax hikes.
Ojwang was arrested in Homa Bay, in western Kenya, as part of an investigation triggered by a formal complaint from the deputy chief of the national police force, Eliud Lagat, according to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, Kenya's government-funded police watchdog.
Lagat had stated he had been the target of alleged false and malicious information published on X, IPOA said.
Kenya's police chief initially implied that Ojwang had died by suicide but later apologised after an autopsy found that his wounds - including a head injury, neck compression and soft tissue damage - pointed to assault as the cause of death.
President William Ruto said on Wednesday that Ojwang had died "at the hands of the police", which he said was "heartbreaking and unacceptable".
Three people have so far been arrested in the case: the policeman in charge of the police station in Nairobi where Ojwang was found dead, a police constable and a closed-circuit television technician at the station.
Reuters was not able to reach Lagat for comment, and a police spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. In the past, the police have called examples of abuse isolated incidents.
SUPPOSED TO PROTECT, NOT HARM
It is not clear what Ojwang posted that got the attention of the police. His social media accounts no longer appear to be active.
According to IPOA, which is investigating his death, Lagat's complaint triggered a probe that led to the arrest of another blogger.
Interrogations of that blogger identified Ojwang as a person of interest, IPOA said.
And so, last Saturday at lunchtime, police officers arrived at Ojwang's house on motorcycles and told him "there are some remarks that he had made about their boss, that the boss is corrupt", his wife Onyango said. They did not identify their boss.
They first took Ojwang to the local police station before telling his family they would transfer him to Nairobi, nearly 300 km (185 miles) away, she said.
She last heard from him at around 9 p.m. (1800 GMT) the Saturday of his arrest when he called her from Nairobi's Central Police Station. She said he sounded worried and asked if she would be able to come to Nairobi.
Onyango is now hoping for answers - and accountability - from IPOA's investigation.
"We always see these things on television, and it actually reached my door," she said of police abuses. "These people are supposed to protect us. They're not supposed to harm us." REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AsiaOne
an hour ago
- AsiaOne
Minnesota shooting suspect told friend in text message: I might be dead soon, World News
MINNEAPOLIS/NEW YORK/WASHINGTON -The suspect in the deadly shooting of a Minnesota state lawmaker and wounding of another had links to evangelical ministries and said he was a security expert with experience in the Gaza Strip and Africa, according to his online postings and public records. A manhunt was under way on Saturday (June 14) for Vance Luther Boelter, 57, who police said is a suspect in the killing of Democratic Minnesota state legislator Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the shooting of State Senator John Hoffman and his wife. Police said the suspect had been seen earlier on Saturday wearing a light coloured cowboy hat, a dark coloured long sleeved collared shirt or coat with a dark bag. The FBI offered a reward of up to $50,000 (S$64,060) for information that could lead to his arrest. David Carlson, 59, told Reuters that he has been sharing a house in Minneapolis with Boelter for a little more than a year and last saw him on Friday night. Then about 6 a.m. on Saturday, he received a text from Boelter. "He said that he might be dead soon," said Carlson, who called police. Carlson, who has known Boelter since fourth grade, said Boelter worked for an eye donation centre and stayed at the house because it was close to his job. Carlson said he feels betrayed by Boelter and heartbroken for the victims, adding: "His family has got to suffer through this." Boelter was appointed in 2016 to the Governor's Workforce Development Board, state records show. The board "has a responsibility to advise the Governor on Minnesota's workforce system," according to its website. Political anger? Asked if Boelter knew the lawmakers, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said: "We are still exploring that." "There's certainly some overlap with some public meetings, I will say, with Senator Hoffman and the individual. But we don't know the nature of the relationship or if they actually knew each other," he told reporters. Boelter listed himself as having no political party preference. On a LinkedIn post six years ago, Boelter urged Americans to vote and value the process: "If you believe in prayer, please keep the United States in your prayers." Carlson said Boelter voted for Trump, was a Christian and did not like abortion, though he added that the pair had not talked about the issue for a long time, adding: "He wasn't really angry about politics." In social media accounts, public records and websites reviewed by Reuters, Boelter described himself as a Christian minister, a security expert with experience in the Middle East and Africa, and a former employee of food service companies. Boelter said he was the chief executive of an organisation called the Red Lion Group, based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He and his wife, Jennifer, also ran a security service called Praetorian Guard Security Services LLC; Minnesota corporate records list her as a manager. The company website says it offers only armed guard security services, and Boelter wrote that he had been "involved with security situations in Eastern Europe, Africa, North America and the Middle East, including the West Bank, Southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip." The claims could not be immediately verified. Police were aware of reports that Boelter owned a security company, Evans said. Looking for work Boelter wrote on LinkedIn a month ago that he was looking for work: "Hi everyone! I'm looking to get back into the US Food Industry and I'm pretty open to positions" in Texas, Minnesota, Florida and the Washington DC area. [[nid:614782]] Nonprofit tax filings show that Boelter and his wife ran a Christian ministry organisation called Revoformation. The most recent filing, in 2010, lists Boelter as president. On an archived version of the Revoformation web page from 2011, Boelter said he was ordained in 1993 as a minister, and had been raised in the small town of Sleepy Eye, about 100 miles southwest of Minneapolis. In his biography on that site, Boelter claimed to have made trips to "violent areas in the Gaza Strip and West Bank where suicide bombings were taking place." "He sought out militant Islamists in order to share the gospel and tell them that violence wasn't the answer," the biography says. Boelter said he went to St. Cloud State University, the now-closed Cardinal Stritch University and the Christ for the Nations Institute, a Bible college in Dallas. After firing at police on Saturday, the suspect abandoned a vehicle in which officers found a "manifesto" and a list of other legislators and officials, law enforcement officials said. Evans said police were still exploring what could have been the motivation for the shootings, adding: "It would be premature for me at this point to really say exactly what the motivation might be from these writings." Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said the shooting "appears to be a politically motivated assassination."
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Australian PM to press Trump on tariffs, defence pact at G-7 summit
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he expected 'a constructive engagement' with US President Donald Trump. PHOTO: REUTERS SYDNEY - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he will meet with US President Donald Trump at next week's G7 meeting in Canada where he plans to discuss trade tariffs and a defence pact put under review by Washington. The G7 summit starting on June 15 in the Canadian Rockies town of Kananaskis marks the first major global gathering of Mr Trump's second term. 'We do have a meeting scheduled,' Mr Albanese told reporters, adding that he expected 'a constructive engagement'. 'We'll raise tariffs, we'll raise the importance as well of Aukus, and we will have a discussion as two friends should,' he said from Seattle, as he makes his way to the G7 summit. The 2021 Aukus deal joins Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States in a multi-decade effort to balance China's growing military might. The deal aims to arm Australia with a fleet of cutting-edge, nuclear-powered submarines from the United States and provides for cooperation in developing an array of warfare technologies. The Trump administration put the pact under review last week, but Australian officials said it was 'perfectly natural for an incoming administration to do'. 'The context of the Aukus discussions will be what Australia contributes, the potential that AUKUS has to allow for a range of benefits to the United States,' he said. Australia, a close US ally, has been slugged with a blanket 10 per cent tariff on goods exported to the United States – rising to 50 per cent on steel and aluminium – as part of Mr Trump's sweeping global duties. 'I will put forward Australia's interests respectfully, because it is also in the interest of the United States for Australia to be treated appropriately,' Mr Albanese said. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Los Angeles protesters tell US Marines to leave LA
U.S. Marines stand guard as people protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's policies and federal immigration sweeps during a No Kings Day demonstration in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/David Ryder LOS ANGELES - About 50 U.S. Marines squared off against hundreds of protesters in front of a federal building in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, with the crowd yelling in unison for them to go home. The Marines had been sent to the city by U.S. President Donald Trump along with federalized members of the California National Guard earlier this week over the objections of the state governor and the city's mayor, as anger over immigration raids drew thousands of demonstrators into the streets. Jesus Arias, a Los Angeles-based attorney, was at the front of the crowd with a bullhorn, working to convince the Marines to abandon their post. "We are not your enemy, we are the people!" Arias said into the bullhorn as the Marines looked on. "You are breaking the oaths you took to be Marines. Wake up! Wake up!" California Governor Gavin Newsom and local leaders have called Trump's move an inflammatory provocation for the protests over the past week - demonstrations that the local sheriff on Friday said were 99% peaceful, with a only a handful of people engaged in violence and vandalism. Trump summoned 700 Marines from California who were trained to help in the L.A. mission, including de-escalation and crowd control. The deployment sparked a debate about the use of the military on U.S. soil given Marines are trained for conflicts around the world rather than at home, but the Trump administration has defended its move by citing the need to maintain law and order. Trump, who is carrying out a campaign promise to deport illegal immigrants, has argued that Los Angeles would have burned down if he had not acted quickly. The Marines were armed with M4 rifles and wore face shields and the same shin guards used by baseball catchers. They stood guard at the top of steps leading to the entrance of the Roybal federal building, which houses immigration offices and where ICE has held some undocumented detainees. The building has been a flashpoint for protesters all week. Just down the steps about 15 feet away, hundreds of protesters confronted the Marines, yelling in unison "Marines go home!" and "Shame! Shame!" Several protesters hurled insults and invectives at the Marines, who did not react. Some in the crowd were telling them to take a knee or to join their demonstration. As of 4 p.m., there had been no physical altercation between the protesters and Marines. Kai Ly, a 45-year-old a Los Angeles resident, was in the crowd. "This is such a sad moment in time for the U.S.," Ly said. "It's sad to see that we're so divided that we have Marines heading off against protesters." Antoinette Gutierrez, 36, was another Los Angeles resident protesting before the Marines. "It's disgusting to have the military, to have the Marines, turned against citizens," she said. "It makes me embarrassed to be American." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
