"Why did they kill my only child?" Albert Ojwang's mother cries amid national outrage

It is a murder that has shaken the country to its core; yet it adds to a growing list of police brutality cases, where some victims have been killed in cold blood and others abducted without a trace.

To the family of Albert Ojwang’, a social media influencer, the pain of losing their kin at the hands of police officers is still raw, and healing will take time.

When The Nairobian visited their home in Kokwanyo, Homa Bay County, Eucabeth Adhiambo Ojwang’, the mother of the deceased, sat in pensive silence as a group of women tried to comfort her.

Her eyes were red — evidence of the endless tears she had shed since receiving the devastating news that her son, taken from their sight, had been murdered at the Central Police Station in Nairobi.

As Kenyans continue to demand justice for her slain son, Eucabeth still struggles to come to terms with Ojwang’s death—tears flowing freely each time his name is mentioned.

Just a few meters away, his wife, Nevinina Onyango, is too distraught to speak. Their love story, a bittersweet symphony, was tragically cut short by bloodthirsty police officers.

“He was our hope. He had big dreams for our family and was keen to ensure that we lived happily as a family,” says Nevinina.

She had just been introduced to her mother and father-in-law barely two months ago and was optimistic of setting up a beautiful family.

The mother of the deceased narrated painfully how her only child was taken away from her, never to return. 

“Why did they kill my only child?” she poses. Eucabeth is disheartened by the manner in which police handled her son, insisting that he did not deserve to die during the arrest.

Ojwang, a father to a five-month-old baby, is believed to have been clobbered to death at the Central Police Station, where he was taken after being picked from their rural home on June 7, 2025.

Clobbered to death

An autopsy has since revealed that the 31-year-old died from head injuries, neck comprehension and multiple soft tissue trauma, ruling out self-inflicted injuries. According to lead pathologist Bernard Midia, the bleeds found on the scalp, skin of the head were spaced.

“When we tie up together with other injuries that are well spread on parts of the body, including the upper limbs and trunk, then this is unlikely to be self-inflicted injury,” explained Midia.

The startling findings rubbishes police’s initial version that he had attempted to commit suicide at Central Police Station where he was being held at the weekend.

The 31-year-old was arrested after Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in charge of the Kenya Police Service, Eliud Lagat, claimed that Ojwang’ and others were behind an online smear campaign linking him to corruption

Lagat reported the matter to Cyber Crime Unit at Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters where officers Wesley Kipkorir Kirui, Dennis Kinyoni, Milton Mwanze and Boniface Rabudo were tasked to track the group.

The officers traveled to Ojwang’s Kakoth home, Kokwanyo village in Homa Bay County where he was picked and taken to Nairobi.

Activists and friends of Albert Ojwang' protset outside the Nairobi Funeral home at the Mbagathi way- Ngong road round-about demanding justice following Albert Ojwang's death while in police custody

After being interrogated at Mazingira Complex, the DCI headquarters along Kiambu Road, Ojwang’ was taken to Central Police Station where contradicting versions emerged.

Initially in a statement, Police Spokesman Muchiri Nyaga had said Ojwang, attempted to commit suicide by hitting his head on the wall several times, and that he was rushed to Mbagathi Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

A day later, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja without elaborating, maintained Ojwang was found in the police cell unconscious. Medics at Mbagathi Hospital maintained Ojwang’ was long dead on arrival at the facility. 

The inconsistency of police accounts raised doubts about their sincerity, fueling fears of a cover-up attempt, that flopped when the postmortem results were made public.

Clear justice system

According to Eucabeth, even if her son had wronged, he did not deserve such a gruesome death arguing that Kenya has a clear criminal justice system through which a suspected offender should be subjected to.

“By any chance he committed such a serious crime warranting death, which I doubt, I expected Ojwang’ to be prosecuted in court,” Eucabeth said.

Fighting back tears, the woman insists that her son never had a history of breaking the law. Ojwang’ graduated from Pwani University in 2022 with a Bachelor of Education majoring in Kiswali and Religious Studies. 

Popularly known as as Alberto Junior Janujaz in campus, former comrades described him as outspoken, charismatic and deeply-driven.

He was shrewd mobiliser in student politics and never shied away from challenging status quo, and played a major role in the Luo Students Association.

“His death has shaken many of us who walked through Pwani University. We have not just lost an alumnus, we have lost a rare soul, one who lived with intention and lifted others as he rose. In mourning him, we also celebrate him. And in celebrating him, we commit ourselves to ideals he lived by; unity, purpose and justice,” said Athumani Hassan Mbangwe, former union chair at the university. And as he was just about to rise, by starting a family, engaging in farming activities as he pursues his professional career, his mother is struggling to come to terms with the loss of her only child raised through hardships. 

“I really went through thick and thin to educate my son throughout his academic tenure at the university. I had high hopes that he was going to transform my family. I am a sad mother today that my only child has died,” mourned Eucabeth.

She described the death as a setback to her family. The mother expected her son to return home in good health.

“My son never had a history of cybercrime, and he was a disciplined boy. We do not understand the nature of the crime that led to his death,” says Eucabeth, her memory still fresh on how Ojwang’ was arrested. 

Five officers who came to pick him told the family that their kin had posted information that tainted the reputation of a senior police officer on X (formerly Twitter). They took Ojwang’ to Mawego Police Station where he was detained temporarily before being moved to Nairobi.

Eucabeth, alongside other family members, went to the station to inquire more about the arrest.  The officers assured the family that Ojwang’ was in safe hands and no one would harm him. This made the family leave to go back home satisfied about his well-being and safety. 

But what shocked the family is when they received the devastating news of Ojwang’s death under unclear and disturbing circumstances.  

Homa Bay Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) Branch Executive Secretary Ismael Omoke recalled how Ojwang’ was passionate about social media, and that sometimes he could skip classes for a week and engage in blogging and other online jobs.

“The deceased had a passion for social media, and reports from the school indicate that he was, in most cases, out of school. He used to stay for a week outside without going to teach,” revealed Omoke.