Central Police Station Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Samson Talaam has been arrested in Eldoret.
IPOA confirmed the arrest in a press briefing on Friday, Jun 13, adding that a civilian was also arrested.
Notably, Talaam's arrest comes days after he recorded his statement with IPOA and denied being the prime suspect in the murder of Albert Ojwang.
According to media reports, the officer reportedly stated that Ojwang was brought to the station in critical condition on the day of his death.
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Talaam claimed that he and other officers tried to save Ojwang by rushing him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
He also refuted claims that he had objected to Ojwang being booked at the station.
Additionally, Talaam revealed that he was not present at the station when Ojwang was brought in and only arrived after being informed of his deteriorating condition.
On Thursday, June 12, the Director of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Mohammed Amin insisted that Taalam be treated as a suspect in connection with Ojwang's death.
Amin pointed to the initial communication from the police station on the cause of Ojwang's death.
The National Police Service (NPS) initially claimed that Ojwang had died by suicide, allegedly from repeatedly banging his head against a wall.
However, a postmortem report later contradicted this claim, revealing that he died from head injuries and neck compression.
"On why I said that the OCS is the principal suspect, the allegation of Albert Ojwang banging his head against the wall came from Central Police Station, and Taalam is the officer commanding Central Police Station.
"Why would an officer coin such a narrative? That's why I said that whatever utterances the OCS is making, we should treat them with a pinch of salt. I have not said that he is an accused person, but we should treat him as a suspect because why would somebody coin that allegation," he said.
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