NAIROBI — A Nairobi-based technician has been arrested after allegedly deleting surveillance footage at Central Police Station, one of the main crime scenes under scrutiny in the death of a man in police custody.
Kelvin Mutisya Matava was picked up early Friday from his home in the city’s Saika neighbourhood. Police say he admitted to wiping the station’s CCTV footage after being paid Sh3,000.
The deleted footage is said to cover the hours before and after 26-year-old Albert Ojwang was booked at the station on the night of 7 June. He died hours later. The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) suspects he was the victim of police brutality.
A Job Turned Criminal
In his statement to investigators, Matava said he installed the station’s 25-camera system in 2024. He claimed he was contacted on the morning of 8 June by a female officer, whom he knew from previous maintenance work.
“She asked me to go to Central Police Station immediately,” Matava told police. “At the station, I was taken to the DVR room by the OCS.”
Once inside, he said, he was told to delete specific dates 6 and 7 June. “I explained that individual dates couldn’t be deleted,” he said. “The only way was to format the entire drive, which would erase all footage.”
He did as instructed. Afterwards, he claimed, the OCS handed him Sh3,000 in cash.
Matava said the female officer called him again later that evening and the next morning, asking him to return with a new hard drive. This time, he was told not to wear anything that might identify him as a technician.
When he got to the station, he noticed the DVR had already been tampered with.
“I found it open. Someone had already interfered with it,” he said.
IPOA: Evidence Was Deliberately Erased
The oversight authority had earlier told Parliament that the digital video recorder logs showed two hard drives were replaced and formatted on 8 June at exactly 7:23:29 and 7:23:48 a.m.
“Someone was instructed to shut off one section of the system,” said IPOA Chairperson Isaac Hassan. “But he said he could only switch off the whole thing.”
The timing of the deletion has raised serious concerns about a coordinated cover-up inside the station.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja confirmed that Ojwang was booked under OB number 136/7/6/2025 at 9:35 p.m. on 7 June. By morning, he was dead.
His death has drawn sharp criticism from rights groups and MPs, who have called for transparency in police operations and full public disclosure of the investigation’s findings.
Growing Fallout
Matava is now the second person arrested in connection with the case. A police constable was taken into custody earlier this week for allegedly playing a role in the deletion of the footage.
In his police statement, Matava appeared conflicted over his involvement. “I saw on social media that someone had died while in custody,” he said. “Considering the instructions I had received from the OCS and Sharon, I got scared.”
IPOA confirmed it had tried to contact Matava to assist with retrieving any salvageable footage. Instead, he sent a colleague in his place.
The oversight body is now investigating how far up the chain of command the order to delete the footage may have gone.
The officer commanding the station (OCS), who allegedly instructed Matava, has yet to be formally charged. Police officials have not released her name.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is leading the probe, with IPOA providing independent oversight.
Ojwang’s family, meanwhile, is still waiting for answers.
“We want justice,” said a relative. “Someone must be held accountable.”
