NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 21 – The murder trial of Albert Ojwang heard Tuesday that forensic analysis of CCTV footage recovered from Central Police Station shows the deceased entered the station alive and responsive but was later removed while unresponsive, as prosecutors sought to strengthen their case with digital evidence.
The testimony came from Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) Head of Forensics Joshua Mutua, who guided the Kibera High Court through a detailed reconstruction of events using recovered surveillance footage, photographs and forensic examination of the station’s CCTV infrastructure.
The prosecution, led by Senior Assistant Directors of Public Prosecutions Jalson Makori and Wangui Gichuhi, alongside Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Dancun Ondimu, first recalled a records officer attached to Central Police Station before calling Mutua to testify.
The records officer completed her testimony on the deletion of CCTV footage recorded on June 6 and 7, 2025, explaining the circumstances under which the surveillance recordings were erased on June 8.
Taking the witness stand, Mutua told the court that he commenced investigations on June 9, 2025, after visiting Central Police Station with fellow investigator Naphtali Nduhi to examine the surveillance system.
He testified that upon inspecting the equipment inside the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) office, he discovered that the station’s Digital Video Recorder (DVR) had been disconnected from its power supply.
After instructing a CCTV technician to reconnect the device, Mutua said he conducted a forensic examination of the DVR logs.
According to his testimony, the forensic analysis established that the recording device had been deliberately formatted at exactly 7:30:14 a.m. on June 8, 2025, while located inside the OCS’s office.
Despite the formatting, the IPOA forensic expert told the court investigators successfully recovered crucial surveillance footage using forensic recovery techniques.
The recovered footage, he said, included recordings from both Central Police Station and Mbagathi, enabling investigators to reconstruct the movements of police officers and the deceased.
Mutua testified that the footage showed Ojwang arriving at Central Police Station alive and responsive before being held in custody.
He further told the court that later recordings captured Ojwang being removed from the station while unresponsive.
The witness also informed the court that he documented the seizure of the DVR and its condition in a forensic exhibit report prepared and signed on June 9, 2025.
His testimony forms a key part of the prosecution’s effort to establish the sequence of events surrounding Ojwang’s death and to address allegations that surveillance evidence was deliberately tampered with after the incident.
The hearing continues before the Kibera High Court.
