Kenya Police Facing Probe After New Death In Custody

Kenyan officers are facing another probe over the death of a man in custody, the country’s police watchdog said on Tuesday, barely three months after a similar case sparked protests.

The east African nation faces long-standing allegations of police brutality, with the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) saying in June that 18 people died in custody over a four-month period this year.

In the latest case, Simon Warui, 26, was arrested in capital Nairobi and transferred almost 500 kilometres to the coastal town of Mombasa, where he was later found dead at a police station, a local newspaper said.

According to IPOA, which said it had begun collecting evidence, Warui died on September 17 from injuries the autopsy report described as “consistent with a fall from a height”.

Rights group VOCAL Africa has raised alarm over Warui’s death, calling the official cause “a lie to mask state violence”.

“Those responsible must be held accountable,” it posted on X.

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Warui’s case follows that of 31-year-old Albert Ojwang, whose death in custody in June provoked demonstrations.

Police initially claimed Ojwang fatally injured himself by hitting his head against a wall, but a government pathologist said the wounds were “unlikely to be self-inflicted.”

Three officers were later charged over his death.