Teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang who died while in police custody.

📋 Breaking It Down

The murder trial over the death of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang has suffered a setback following the death of a police officer who had been listed as a key prosecution witness.

Stephen Maina Nderitu, 54, who was attached to Central Police Station, died on Monday shortly after leaving work.

According to sources, he collapsed and was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A postmortem conducted at Kenyatta National Hospital reportedly attributed his death to underlying medical conditions, including acute ulcers and high blood pressure.

📌 What You Need to Know

Nderitu was expected to testify about events at Central Police Station following Ojwang's arrest and death, particularly matters relating to police records and the handling of information at the station.

Read: Albert Ojwang's last moments at Central police station

The trial is being conducted by the High Court in Kibera. Witnesses who testified told the court that Ojwang's death was preceded by an assault and followed by attempts to interfere with CCTV evidence.

Opening the trial, the prosecution said they will table evidence showing that Ojwang's death was not accidental or self-inflicted, as initially reported, but followed an alleged assault while he was in police custody.

Former Central Police Station commander Samson Tallam is charged with murder alongside police officers James Mukhwana and Peter Kimani. John Ngige Gitau, Jim Ambao and Brian Njue are also facing murder charges.

The prosecution has alleged that the accused persons participated in events leading to Ojwang's death and that there were subsequent attempts to conceal what happened.

📰 Source: Nation Africa