Kenyan police officer in charge of cell where blogger died arrested after protests

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenyan authorities on Friday arrested a senior police officer responsible for the cell where a blogger died, leading to widespread protests in the capital, Nairobi, that left dozens injured.

Samson Talam, the officer commanding the central police station in Nairobi was arrested on Friday, and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority said that CCTV at the police station had been tampered with and its disks formatted a day after the blogger died inside the cell.

Albert Ojwang, 31, 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 police cell and police said he hit his head against the wall. A pathologist’s report refuted the police account, stating that the deceased had “head injury, neck compression and other injuries spread all over the body that are pointing towards assault.”

The arrest comes a day after the detention of another officer from the central police station. James Mukhwana was arrested Thursday in connection with the blogger’s death. He appeared in court Friday, where detectives requested for more time for their investigation.

Ojwang’s death led to protests on Thursday that turned violent as police clashed with protesters injuring several and leading a trail of property destruction.

President William Ruto on Friday said his government would “protect citizens from rogue police officers” and he called for investigations into Ojwang’s death.

Kenya has a history of police brutality and Ruto had vowed to end brutality and extrajudicial killings.

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.