Police officers in Homa Bay County are currently investigating the mysterious death of a 36-year-old man who died while being held at Kipasi Police Post in Mbita.
The man, identified as Calvince Omondi Onditi, passed away under unclear circumstances just a few hours after his arrest on the night of Sunday, June 15.
According to police reports, Omondi allegedly died by suicide using his own trousers to hang himself inside the holding cell.
He had been arrested shortly after midnight, with authorities claiming he had been caught trespassing inside a goat pen. The local chief reportedly alerted the police, leading to his arrest.
However, this version of events has been strongly disputed by Omondi’s family members, local residents, and area leaders, including Suba North Member of Parliament Millie Odhiambo.
They believe there is more to the story and are calling for an independent and thorough investigation into the real cause of Omondi’s death.
MP Odhiambo expressed her frustration and disbelief, completely rejecting the police’s claim that Omondi died by suicide. She pointed out that this was not the first time a person from Homa Bay had died under mysterious circumstances in police custody.
She referenced the earlier case of Albert Ojwang, who also died while in police hands, and whose case remains unresolved.
“These suspicious deaths inside police cells must stop. Albert Ojwang’s family is still waiting for justice, and now Calvin Onditi has also died under the same unclear conditions.
Once again, the police are pushing this same weak story about suicide. It doesn’t make sense,” Odhiambo said.
Omondi’s family members were equally shocked and devastated after being informed about his death. They questioned how he could die so soon after being arrested and raised doubts about the police version of events.
“They called us and said your brother is dead. We were completely shocked. Just a few hours earlier, we were told he had been taken to Mbita, and now this is what we are told.
When we arrived, we saw him hanging inside the cell,” a relative of Omondi painfully explained.
A post-mortem examination is scheduled to be carried out at Homa Bay Teaching and Referral Hospital to help establish the true cause of death.
Speaking from the hospital, Chief Executive Officer Dr. Vincent Oduor confirmed that initial observations on Omondi’s body showed visible signs of strangulation.
“We are waiting for the official autopsy results, but just from what we have seen so far, there are clear strangulation marks around his neck.
The trousers used to make the noose are still there, and we also noticed that his tongue had bite marks. At the moment, there are no other major injuries on the body apart from these,” said Dr. Oduor.
Meanwhile, in a separate but related development, three civilians who were being held at the Central Police Station in Nairobi the night Albert Ojwang died have now been arrested.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) revealed that the three were allegedly ordered by police officers to torture Ojwang while he was in custody, leading to his death.
Although the reasons for their original detention remain unknown, the three individuals were reportedly released shortly after Ojwang’s mysterious death.
However, following further investigations by IPOA, they were re-arrested on Sunday and are now being held separately at Kilimani, Muthangari, and Kileleshwa Police Stations.
The cases of both Calvince Omondi and Albert Ojwang have reignited public outcry over alleged police brutality and the disturbing trend of deaths occurring in police custody.
Many Kenyans, especially in Homa Bay, are now demanding justice, transparency, and accountability from the police service.
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