Kenyan police officers who were on duty when a man died in a custody in a police station was excluded from the return to work until the result of investigations.
Albert Ojwang was arrested on Friday after Kenya had accused him of destroying his name, Mr. Kanja confirmed.
“During his detention, the suspicious head injuries were suffered after he had hit his head against a cell wall,” A police declaration said. He was taken to the hospital “where he was declared dead when he arrived”.
Amnesty International’s Kenya branch told the BBC that Mr. Ojwang’s death was “very suspicious”.
Amnesty said In a statement that “serious questions arise that are urgently, thoroughly and independently examined”.
The high -ranking policeman Stephen Okal is Quoted by the Star newspaper What happened in the cell was “an attempted suicide”.
Mr. Ojwang, who was described in media reports as a teacher and blogger, was arrested in the western city of Homa Bay and then drove 350 km to the capital, Nairobi, his father Meshack Opiyo told the journalist.
He was accused of “false publication”, with Mr. Opiyo told Online news page Citizen Digital That the arrest officer said “Albert insulted a high -ranking person on X”, the social media platform.
In a police statement, it states that the officials at the time who were on duty at that time – including the head of the police station – were “prohibited” in order to carry out an “impartial examination” independent supervisory authority.
This meant that the officials could not fulfill their duties and received half of their salaries until the investigation was shown, police spokesman Michael Muchiri told the BBC.
At a press conference, Kanja said that the police would give investigators all “necessary support” to solve the case.
He said Mr. Ojwang was arrested in Homa Bay on Friday, then moved to Nairobi for a survey and booked on the police station on Saturday.
According to the police chief, Mr. Ojwang was found unconscious during a routine inspection of the cells and taken to a hospital in which he was declared dead when he arrived.
He said the arrest was triggered by a complaint by the deputy police chief Eliud Lagat “clouded over his name”.
“Examinations were actually carried out on this basis,” added the chief of police.
The head of the Independent Police Oversight Commission (IPOA), Ahmed Isaack Hassan, said his team “do everything possible to ensure that justice is served for the family and for all Kenyans”.
Mr. Hassan, who took part in the press conference, asked the officials not to disturb the investigation.
A post-mortem exam should be carried out on Monday.
The death of Mr. Ojwang, who was reported that he was 31 years old, triggered indignation online and demands protests to request the police accountability.
With regard to the circumstances of his arrest, the director of Amnesty Kenya, Irungu Houghton, said it was “quite shocking” that Mr. Ojwang was not booked in the local police station after the detention, but was instead taken on a long journey instead.
He asked the independent investigators to secure what he described as a “crime scene” at the police station in Nairobi.
Ojwang’s detention and death come at a time increasing concern about how some government critics are treated.
Last week, Software developer Rose Man – Those who established an instrument to help people oppose a law to finance the government was charged with violation of a law of cyber criminal offense.
