Kenyan police officer arrested after daylong protests over a blogger’s death in custody
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A Kenyan police officer was arrested Thursday in connection with the death of a blogger in police custody that led to protests in the streets of the capital where two vehicles were burned and several protesters injured.
Protesters took to the streets of Nairobi and destroyed property of unknown value while calling for the resignation of a top police officer named in the case.
Albert Ojwang, who blogged about corruption on the social platform X, was arrested on June 6 in western Kenya and driven 400 kilometers (248 miles) to Nairobi for what police said was publishing “false information” about a top police official on social media. He died two days later at the Central Police Station after “hitting his head against the cell wall,” police said. Amnesty International and local activists have questioned that account.
A government pathologist has refuted the police’s account that the blogger’s injuries were self-inflicted, saying the deceased had “head injury, neck compression and other injuries spread all over the body that are pointing towards assault.”
The protesters on Thursday occupied the road in Nairobi leading to the parliamentary building, where the national budget was due to be presented.
Police on Monday fired tear gas to disperse another protest demanding accountability for Ojwang’s death.
Authorities have since said an official investigation is underway.
President William Ruto in a statement on Wednesday said Ojwang’s death was “heartbreaking and unacceptable.”
“I strongly condemn the actions and omissions, including any negligence or outright criminality, that may have contributed to his untimely death,” Ruto said.
The blogger’s death comes almost a year after several activists and protesters were killed and abducted by Kenyan police during finance bill protests. The rallies led to calls for the removal of Ruto, who has been criticized for what some say is his authoritarian streak.
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