Court told CCTV evidence shows Albert Ojwang left Central Police cells unresponsive
Court told CCTV evidence shows Albert Ojwang left Central Police cells unresponsive
Prosecution in the murder trial of the late Albert Ojwang continued its case after calling the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) Head of Forensics, Joshua Mutua, whose testimony provided detailed forensic analysis of CCTV evidence and the alleged tampering of surveillance systems at Central Police Station.
The hearing before the Kibera High Court was led by Senior Assistant Directors of Public Prosecutions (SADPP) Jalson Makori and Wangui Gichuhi, alongside Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (ADPP) Dancun Ondimu.
Prosecution first recalled Prosecution Witness Three (PW3), an officer attached to the records office at Central Police Station, who continued her testimony on events surrounding the deletion of CCTV footage for 6th and 7th June 2025.
The witness concluded her account on the circumstances under which the surveillance recordings were deleted on 8th June 2025.
Mutua, a video investigations specialist took to the dock, and guided the court through a comprehensive forensic reconstruction of events at Central Police Station based on CCTV footage, photographs and his forensic examination of the station’s surveillance infrastructure.
Using images displayed in court, he explained the layout of the station and identified the locations covered by various CCTV cameras.
The witness gave the court a chronological account of events captured by the surveillance system on 7th June 2025, from the period immediately before Albert Ojwang was brought to the station, his arrival and movement within the facility, up to the time he was removed from the station.
Mutua told the court that his investigations commenced on 9th June 2025 when he, accompanied by fellow investigator Naphtali Nduhi, visited Central Police Station to examine the CCTV system.
He testified that before visiting the station, he had contacted a technician identified as Dan, whose details had been provided by a records officer.
Although Dan was unavailable, he referred Mutua to another technician, Aaron, who had participated in the installation of the station’s CCTV system in 2024.
According to the witness, he met Aaron outside the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) office before proceeding inside to examine the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) and other surveillance equipment.
He photographed the CCTV installation and observed that the DVR had been disconnected from the power supply.
After directing Aaron to reconnect the system, Mutua conducted a forensic examination of the DVR logs.
He testified that the analysis established that the recording device had been deliberately formatted at 7:30:14 a.m. on 8th June 2025 while located inside the OCS’s office.
Despite the formatting, the witness informed the court that forensic recovery techniques enabled investigators to retrieve critical CCTV footage from both Central Police Station and Mbagathi, preserving evidence relevant to the movements and interactions involving police officers and the deceased.
Mr. Mutua further testified that he prepared and signed a forensic exhibit report on 9th June 2025 documenting the seizure of the DVR and its tampered state.
According to his testimony, the recovered footage showed that Albert Ojwang appeared alive and responsive when he was brought to Central Police Station and during the period he remained in custody.
The witness further testified that subsequent footage showed the deceased being removed from the station while unresponsive.