Nyandarua: Questions As Woman Miscarries in Police Custody

NAIROBI, Kenya – June 13 – The National Police Service is under renewed fire after a woman suffered a miscarriage while in police custody at Rwanyambo Police Post in Nyandarua County, an incident that has intensified public outrage over police abuse in Kenya.

Police confirmed the miscarriage on Thursday evening, describing it as “unfortunate,” and said investigations have been launched by the Internal Affairs Unit, in collaboration with the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).

The officer in charge of the station has since been interdicted to allow for what the police termed a “swift, impartial, and transparent” investigation.

The revelation came just hours after hundreds of protesters poured into Nairobi’s Central Business District, demanding justice for Albert Ojwang, a 32-year-old teacher and social media influencer who died in police custody at Central Police Station in Nairobi last week.

The protesters, many dressed in black and carrying placards reading “Justice for Albert” and “Stop Killing Us,” clashed with anti-riot police in chaotic scenes across Kimathi Street, Moi Avenue, and Ronald Ngala Street.

Teargas filled the air, several people were injured, and at least two vehicles were set ablaze. The protests paralyzed transport, and public outcry on social media surged under hashtags like #JusticeForAlbertOjwang and #StopPoliceBrutality.

Ojwang’s postmortem revealed he died from blunt force trauma, neck compression, and multiple soft tissue injuries—findings that contradicted earlier police reports suggesting suicide. IPOA has since confirmed that CCTV footage at the station was interfered with, and says all officers involved are being treated as murder suspects.

Rights groups now say the miscarriage case in Nyandarua illustrates a broader pattern of systemic abuse in Kenya’s police cells.

“This isn’t just about isolated cases. It’s about a policing culture that permits abuse with impunity,” said VOCAL Africa CEO Hussein Khalid, who spoke on Capital FM Thursday morning. “We’re seeing deliberate attempts to cover up torture and deaths. It must stop.”

Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo echoed those concerns. “This miscarriage is not only a tragedy—it’s an indictment of how broken our justice system is. The contradicting accounts from police on Ojwang’s death were already deeply troubling. Now this.”

Both Khalid and Odhiambo have demanded that Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat, the complainant in the Ojwang case, be barred from influencing investigations.

As calls for accountability grow louder, IPOA and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) are under pressure to deliver credible findings in both cases. On Wednesday, DCI Director Mohamed Amin named OCS Benjamin Talam of Central Police Station as the prime suspect in Ojwang’s death.