The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has pointed fingers at Nairobi Central Police Station’s Officer Commanding Station (OCS), Samson Taalam, accusing him of being behind the deletion of CCTV footage linked to the suspicious death of blogger Albert Ojwang while in police custody.
Appearing at the Milimani Law Courts, the ODPP, through its legal team, alleged that Taalam interfered with vital evidence by instructing a technician to delete specific surveillance footage.
The footage in question is believed to hold key information that could shed light on what exactly happened to Ojwang after his arrest.
Last week, it was reported that a technician had received Ksh3,000 to delete the footage. At the time, it wasn’t clear who had issued the payment or given the directive. However, on Monday, the prosecution claimed that Taalam, who was responsible for managing police station records and CCTV systems, allegedly hired the technician in an effort to conceal evidence and obstruct the course of justice.
“The respondent, due to his rank as OCS, has access to sensitive information and potential witnesses. There’s a serious risk that if released, he may interfere with those officers who were on duty during the incident and who are yet to give official statements,” said the DPP’s representative in court.
As part of their argument to have Taalam detained for 21 days, the prosecution maintained that he not only instructed the technician but also paid him to tamper with the CCTV system at the station.
The technician accused of deleting the footage was reportedly arrested early on Friday, June 13, during a targeted police operation at his home in a densely populated Nairobi estate.
Insiders familiar with the case said that the technician, who had installed all 25 CCTV cameras at Nairobi Central Police Station earlier this year, received a call at around 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 8. The caller, a police officer from the station, allegedly told him to report to the station immediately.
Upon his arrival, the technician was escorted to a senior officer’s office—where the DVR (Digital Video Recorder), which stores all the recorded footage, is kept.
He was allegedly ordered to delete surveillance videos from two specific days—Thursday, June 6, and Friday, June 7. After completing the task, he was paid Ksh3,000.
Taalam was later arrested in Eldoret on Friday and has remained in custody since then. Police sources claim he had gone into hiding after the investigation intensified. He was eventually handed over to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) for further questioning.
Following his arrest, IPOA submitted an application requesting to detain him for 21 days. This period would allow investigators enough time to complete their inquiries into the circumstances surrounding Ojwang’s death.
The crackdown followed a statement from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Director General, Amin Mohamed, who named Taalam as the primary suspect in the case.
Speaking during a Senate inquiry into the blogger’s death, Mohamed stressed that Taalam was in a key position of authority at the station where the incident occurred.
“It was also confirmed that before the suspect was officially booked into the station, officers at the report desk contacted the OCS. However, the OCS declined to authorize the booking.
This is significant because Taalam is the Officer Commanding Central Police Station,” Mohamed told the Senate committee.
The case has raised serious concerns about police accountability and abuse of authority, with the public and human rights groups closely watching the proceedings to ensure justice for the late Albert Ojwang.
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