Latest news with #LawSocietyofKenya
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kenyan blogger was hit and assaulted to death, autopsy reveals
A Kenyan blogger who died in police custody was hit on the head and his death was likely to have been caused by assault, a post-mortem has revealed. This contradicts police claims that Albert Ojwang "sustained head injuries after hitting his head against a cell wall". His death has sparked widespread outrage in Kenya, with rights groups demanding that police be held accountable. Mr Ojwang, 31, was detained following a complaint by the deputy police chief, who accused him of tarnishing his name on social media. "The cause of death is very clear; head injury, neck compression and other injuries spread all over the body that are pointing towards assault," state pathologist Bernard Midia said. Police have not yet commented on the findings. Mr Ojwang, a digital creator who microblogged on X and Facebook on topical political and social issues, was arrested in Homa Bay, a town in western Kenya, on Friday. He was detained over a post on X that was allegedly critical of Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat. He was subsequently transferred over 350km (220 miles) to the capital, Nairobi, and booked into the Central Police Station on Saturday. Police said he was later found unconscious in his cell with self-inflicted injuries. But an autopsy, conducted by five pathologists who released a unanimous report, revealed that Mr Ojwang had severe head injuries and suffered neck compression and multiple soft tissue trauma. Dr Midia, who led the team of pathologists, said that Mr Ojwang did not hit himself on the wall, as police had said in a statement on Sunday. He said if Mr Ojwang had done this, the pattern of injuries would have been different, and frontal bleeding on the head would be seen. "But the bleeds that we found on the scalp… on the skin of the head were spaced, including on the face, sides of the head and the back of the head," Dr Midia said at a press conference. "There were also multiple soft tissue injuries spread all over the body, including the head, neck, upper limbs and the trunk and lower limbs... these were injuries that were externally inflicted," he added. The injuries were consistent with "external assault" and there were also signs of a struggle, according to the pathologists. Mr Ojwang's father, Meshack Ojwang, has appealed to President William Ruto to help him get justice for his son. "Help me as a taxpayer. The officers who picked up my son saw our home was humble and assumed we didn't matter," the father said. Ruto has not yet commented. The Digital Content Creators Association of Kenya paid tribute to Mr Ojwang, saying: "Albert was more than a content creator - he was a voice of the youth, a symbol of resilience, and an embodiment of the dreams and hopes of a generation that uses digital platforms to inspire change. His legacy will not be silenced." Faith Odhiambo, president of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), said the autopsy report clearly showed that Mr Ojwang had been "tortured" and "brutally murdered" in police custody. "We will continue to pile pressure until every single officer involved is held personally liable. We won't accept more excuses," Ms Odhiambo said. Veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga has condemned Mr Ojwang's "horrifying" death, saying it added to a long list of "young and defenceless Kenyans whose lives have been taken too soon, in brutal and senseless circumstances, at the hands of the police". Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja earlier suspended several officers who were on duty at the time of Mr Ojwang's death. Kenya's Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has launched an inquiry into his death. But human rights groups have demanded more action, terming the blogger's death as a possible attempt to silence the digital community through intimidation and fear. A crowd of activists, holding placards and chanting "Stop killing us", protested on Monday outside Nairobi City mortuary, where Mr Ojwang's body is being kept. Why Kenya's president has so many nicknames The 'tax collector' president sparking Kenyan anger BBC identifies security forces who shot Kenya anti-tax protesters Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Focus on Africa This Is Africa
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kenyan blogger was hit and assaulted to death, autopsy reveals
A Kenyan blogger who died in police custody was hit on the head and his death was likely to have been caused by assault, a post-mortem has revealed. This contradicts police claims that Albert Ojwang "sustained head injuries after hitting his head against a cell wall". His death has sparked widespread outrage in Kenya, with rights groups demanding that police be held accountable. Mr Ojwang, 31, was detained following a complaint by the deputy police chief, who accused him of tarnishing his name on social media. "The cause of death is very clear; head injury, neck compression and other injuries spread all over the body that are pointing towards assault," state pathologist Bernard Midia said. Police have not yet commented on the findings. Mr Ojwang was arrested in Homa Bay, a town in western Kenya, on Friday, over a post on X that was allegedly critical of Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat. He was subsequently transferred over 350km (220 miles) to the capital, Nairobi, and booked into the Central Police Station on Saturday. Police said he was later found unconscious in his cell with self-inflicted injuries. But an autopsy, conducted by five pathologists who released a unanimous report, revealed that Mr Ojwang had severe head injuries and suffered neck compression and multiple soft tissue trauma. Dr Midia, who led the team of pathologists, said that Mr Ojwang did not hit himself on the wall, as police had said in a statement on Sunday. He said if Mr Ojwang had done this, the pattern of injuries would have been different, and frontal bleeding on the head would be seen. "But the bleeds that we found on the scalp… on the skin of the head were spaced, including on the face, sides of the head and the back of the head," Dr Midia said at a press conference. "There were also multiple soft tissue injuries spread all over the body, including the head, neck, upper limbs and the trunk and lower limbs... these were injuries that were externally inflicted," he added. The injuries were consistent with "external assault" and there were also signs of a struggle, according to pathologists. Faith Odhiambo, president of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), said the autopsy report clearly showed that Mr Ojwang had been "tortured" and "brutally murdered" in police custody. "We will continue to pile pressure until every single officer involved is held personally liable. We won't accept more excuses," Ms Odhiambo said. Veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga has condemned Mr Ojwang's "horrifying" death, saying it added to a long list of "young and defenceless Kenyans whose lives have been taken too soon, in brutal and senseless circumstances, at the hands of the police". Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja earlier suspended several officers who were on duty at the time of Mr Ojwang's death. But human rights groups have demanded for more action, terming the blogger's death as a possible attempt to silence the digital community through intimidation and fear. A crowd of activists, holding placards and chanting "Stop killing us", protested on Monday outside Nairobi City mortuary, where Mr Ojwang's body is being kept. Kenya's Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has launched an inquiry into his death. Why Kenya's president has so many nicknames The 'tax collector' president sparking Kenyan anger BBC identifies security forces who shot Kenya anti-tax protesters Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Focus on Africa This Is Africa
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Kenya death-in-custody victim was arrested for criticising cop online
Kenya's police chief said Monday that a man who died in custody over the weekend had been arrested for criticising a senior officer. The country was already on edge as it marks a year since massive protests over tax rises and corruption that triggered a police response in which at least 60 were killed. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Albert Ojwang, 31, was found unconscious in a cell in Nairobi's central police station on Saturday and later pronounced dead in hospital. The police said he hit his own head against the wall. "We saw the body yesterday... (it) had a lot of injuries on the hands, the shoulder area, the head was swollen all around the frontal part... and there was a lot of blood oozing from the nose and mouth," Julius Juma, lawyer for Ojwang's family, told reporters and supporters gathered outside the city's morgue on Monday. Police Inspector General Douglas Kanja told reporters that Ojwang was arrested along with several others following a complaint by his deputy, Eliud Kipkoech Lagat. "There was a complaint that had been launched by the (deputy inspector-general) about his name being tarnished," Kanja said. Local media said the group were arrested over posts on social media. Ojwang was arrested in western Kenya but transferred more than 250 kilometres (150 miles) to Nairobi, "without proper orders from the court", the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) said on Monday. The move was evidence of "bad faith and malice in the arrest", the LSK said, adding that it refuted "any proposition that his death was an accident". Amnesty International earlier said Ojwang's death "must be urgently, thoroughly and independently investigated". Kenyan authorities have been accused of a harsh crackdown on critics of the government, with more than 80 illegally detained since the June 2024 protests, according to rights groups -- some just for sharing cartoons or satirical images of President William Ruto. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Former attorney general Justin Muturi, who says his own son was illegally detained by security forces during the protests, said the circumstances surrounding Ojwang's death were "not just suspicious, they are outrageous". "They insult the intelligence of Kenyans and raise very serious questions about the conduct and accountability of our law enforcement agencies," he wrote on X.
eNCA
03-06-2025
- General
- eNCA
Tanzania faces call to investigate activists' torture claims
DAR ES SALAAM - The international community must pressure Tanzania to investigate police officers accused of sexually torturing Kenyan and Ugandan activists last month, a rights coalition in Kenya said on Tuesday. Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire were detained in Tanzania's business capital Dar es Salaam between 19-23 May when they attempted to attend the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is charged with treason and faces a potential death penalty. They have both detailed torture and sexual abuse by the police officers who detained them. On Tuesday, the Police Reforms Working Group, a coalition of Kenyan rights organisations, called on "the East African Community and the international community to demand that the government of Tanzania hold accountable the police officers and their commanding officers responsible for the torture, assault, and sexual assault committed against Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire." The group spoke alongside the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) at a press conference in Nairobi. "Torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment are serious crimes under multiple treaties and international law," they said. "The government of Tanzania must arrest and prosecute all officers suspected of responsibility for the human rights violations against Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire and bring them to justice in a fair trial." Irungu Houghton, director of Amnesty International Kenya, said Tanzania was engaged in "a brutal campaign against all forms of dissent" ahead of elections in October. President Samia Suluhu Hassan is running for re-election but her government has banned the main opposition party, Chadema, after it insisted on reforms before taking part.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Outrage in Kenya over detention of software developer
Kenyans have expressed outrage over the detention of a software developer who created a tool to help people oppose the government's annual finance bill because of fears that it will raise the cost of living. Rose Njeri was detained on Friday after police raided her home in the capital, Nairobi, and seized electronic devises, activists said. Police and the government have not yet commented on the detention of the mother of two. Mass protests broke out last year after the government proposed tax hikes, forcing President William Ruto to withdraw the 2024 finance bill. The bill outlines the government's spending priorities for the next financial year, and how it intends to raise income. At least 50 people were killed and dozens were abducted in a security force crackdown to end the protests that broke out last year. Law Society of Kenya (LSK) president Faith Odhiambo told the BBC Newsday radio programme that Ms Njeri's detention was a "recurrence of dictatorship". The 'tax collector' president sparking Kenyan anger BBC identifies security forces who shot Kenya anti-tax protesters On Sunday, a group of activists gathered outside a police station in Nairobi, where the software developer is being held, to demand her release. Ms Odhiambo said that Ms Njeri - whom activists visited in prison - was "crestfallen" because with Monday being a public holiday, she had not yet been brought to court. Attempts to get her released on bail had failed, she added. "This has always been a government way of oppressing, intimidating and suppressing citizens because they know the courts don't sit over the weekend – and now we have a public holiday," Ms Odhiambo said. Boniface Mwangi, one of the activists who had visited Ms Njeri in custody, said she told them that police had ransacked her house and taken her phone, laptop and hard drives. He said she was worried about her two children. "Imagine having to tell her children that she's in jail for developing a website that eases public participation for Kenyans who want to submit their proposals on the 2025 budget," he said on X. Ms Njeri was detained after sharing a link to a site that flagged clauses in the bill that she said would lead to the cost of living escalating. It also allowed people to email parliament, calling for the bill to be withdrawn. She also raised concern that a proposal to amend tax procedures, allowing the tax authority to access personal data without a court order, could undermine privacy rights. The new finance bill replaces the zero-rated tax provision on essential commodities with tax-exempt status. Zero-rated goods are taxed at 0%, and suppliers do not charge value-added tax (VAT) to customers but can still claim input VAT on the materials used in producing these goods. Tax-exempted goods are also not subject to VAT but suppliers cannot claim back input VAT, leading to higher prices for consumers or reduced profit margins for businesses, economists and activists say. Finance minister John Mbadi recently admitted that tax-exempt goods may be "slightly more expensive" but explained that the move was necessary to close tax loopholes. He said the government had determined that traders do not pass the zero-rating benefit to consumers, while some make "fictitious and fake" claims for refunds. Mbadi is scheduled to present the government's spending and tax proposals in parliament next week. Last week, Ruto apologised to Kenyan youth for "any misstep" in dealing with them since he took office in 2022. Last month, he said that all the people who had been abducted after last year's protests against tax hikes had been "returned to their families". How Kenya's evangelical president has fallen out with churches Kenyan president's humbling shows power of African youth Protesters set fire to Kenya's parliament - but also saved two MPs Mourning mother's anger at Kenyan migrant smugglers Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Focus on Africa This Is Africa
