Nairobi Central Police Station’s Officer Commanding Station (OCS), Samson Kiprotich Talaam, was on Monday, June 16, 2025, arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts in connection with the custodial death of Albert Omondi Ojwang.
Appearing before Senior Principal Magistrate Benmark Ekhubi, OCS Talaam faced a miscellaneous application filed by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), which is seeking to detain him for 21 days to allow for further investigations.
According to IPOA’s Senior Assistant Director of Investigations, Abdirahaman Jibril, preliminary evidence suggests Talaam, along with others still at large, may have orchestrated a cover-up of the brutal assault that led to Ojwang’s death while in police custody.
“The evidence gathered so far indicates that the respondent and others conspired to conceal the assault on the deceased while he was detained at the Central Police Station,” Jibril stated in the application.
Jibril also argued that detaining Talaam was necessary to prevent possible interference with witnesses and to safeguard the officer himself, citing heightened public anger surrounding the case. He further noted the need to ensure Talaam remains within the court’s jurisdiction throughout the investigation.
However, Talaam’s defense team—comprising lawyers Danstan Omari, Cliff Ombeta, and Felix Kiprono Keaton—strongly opposed the application, arguing that the prosecution had not demonstrated sufficient grounds for the extended detention.
“The prosecution has failed to present compelling reasons to justify a 21-day detention,” the defense submitted. “Our client voluntarily presented himself to the authorities and poses no flight risk. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty.”
Lawyer Keaton further told the court that Talaam has permanent residences in both Nairobi and Eldoret, making it easy for investigators to reach him if needed.
He urged the court to reject IPOA’s request and instead grant Talaam a cash bail of Ksh70,000, stating that it is the amount he could reasonably afford.
“We ask the court to deny the application and grant the respondent bail at Ksh70,000,” Keaton pleaded.
Magistrate Ekhubi scheduled the ruling on the IPOA application for Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 2:00 PM.
In the meantime, the court ordered that OCS Talaam be remanded at Lang’ata Police Station.
According to IPOA, Talaam was arrested on June 13 after voluntarily reporting to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters.
He was later escorted to IPOA offices and subsequently booked at Lang’ata Police Station, where he remained in custody pending Monday’s court appearance.
By Were Kelly
