A key witness in the Albert Ojwang murder case, Corporal Stephen Maina Nderitu, died after collapsing at his home in Nairobi.
Nderitu was attached to Central Police Station and was on duty when Ojwang died in police custody on June 7, 2025.
Police said Corporal Stephen Maina Nderitu, a police officer who was attached to Central Police Station in Nairobi during the controversial death of Albert Ojwang’, died on Monday, hours after leaving work.
A postmortem report cited acute ulcers, cardiac arrest and depression as the causes of death. His family said they were satisfied with the report.
Officials said his statement, recorded on May 18, 2025, had already outlined sensitive details about the chain of accountability in the case.
They said that even though he had died, they would apply for the admission of his statement as evidence.
His burial is scheduled for Friday, September 18.
He was on duty when Ojwang was clobbered to death, and also witnessed the tampering with CCTV footage that captured the events leading to Ojwang’s death.
His colleagues said he had been looking frail and stressed, and that they didn’t know the cause of his condition.
A senior officer at the station, Samson Talaam, is among those facing murder charges over the death of the teacher.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) had lined up 28 witnesses for the trial into the death of Ojwang’, who died on June 7, 2025, while in police custody at Nairobi Central Police Station.
The prosecution has told the court that the teacher was tortured and strangled while in custody, with CCTV footage from the police station also allegedly deleted.
Six other witnesses have since been placed under tight protective custody after prosecutors warned of a significant risk of interference.
The hearing of the case is set to continue in December 2026.
