Youth Carrying Albert Ojwang's Body Storm Police Station & Set It On Fire

On Thursday, July 3, youths in Homa Bay carried Albert Ojwang’s body to the police station where he was first booked after his arrest on June 7.

Footage seen by Viral Tea showed a massive crowd running, with a few people at the front lifting the coffin, which had just arrived in Homa Bay from Nairobi.

The group, chanting funeral songs, made their way to Mawego Police Station, where Ojwang had initially been held before being moved to Central Police Station in Nairobi.

Reportedly, this ritual was meant to keep away evil spirits that could disturb his rest. However, the situation quickly spiralled into chaos as mourners turned into protesters, torching parts of the police station.

Section of Mawego Police Station in Homa Bay County set on fire on July 3, 2025 by youths who were ferrying the body of the late Albert Ojwang. /VIRAL TEA KE

This unfolded just a day after his family held a requiem mass on Wednesday, July 2, at Ridgeways Baptist Church in Nairobi, where they remembered him as peaceful and gone far too soon.

Recalling his last moments, his mother, Eucabeth Ojwang, said, “They took my Albert just when I had prepared lunch for him. He had not even taken a bite of ugali before the police took him. When they came, Albert was trembling. I asked him what was wrong; he told me he had done nothing."

Ojwang’s transfer from Homa Bay to Nairobi faced heavy scrutiny, with several legal experts questioning whether the move was lawful.

When DCI boss Mohammed Amin appeared before the Senate on June 11, Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale asked to see the court order authorising the transfer, but Amin argued that such an order was not required.

"We do not require a court order to move a suspect from one police jurisdiction to another police jurisdiction," he stated, adding, "The deceased was booked in and later booked out of Mawego Police Station at 1600 hours and booked into Central Police Station at 2132 hours."

Ojwang was arrested by police for allegedly publishing false information about Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat. His subsequent death in police custody, however, sparked nationwide protests and put Lagat at the centre of public uproar.

According to the National Police Service (NPS), DIG Lagat — who has since stepped aside — filed a formal complaint claiming the posts were defamatory. Following that, officers believed to be from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) picked up Albert and took him to the Central Police Station in Nairobi.

It was there, while in police custody, that Albert Ojwang reportedly died under suspicious circumstances on Sunday, June 8. Investigations into the alleged murder have pointed to a network of police officers and remandees at the station as key suspects.

On June 16, Police Constable James Mukwana, the first officer arrested in connection with the death, gave a detailed statement that implicated high-ranking figures, including DIG Lagat and Central Police Station OCS Samsom Talaam.