A Kenyan police officer has appeared in court in connection with the death of a teacher in police custody in a case that has caused outrage and protests and brought renewed scrutiny on the country’s security forces. Constable James Mukhwana is the first police officer to be arrested over the death of Albert Ojwang, a secondary school teacher who was arrested on 6 June in Homa Bay county, western Kenya, after criticizing a senior police official on social media. After his arrest, Ojwang was driven about 200 miles (350km) to Nairobi, where he died two days later.
Ojwang’s death caused outrage online and protests in Nairobi as people demanded accountability and called for the resignation of the deputy inspector general, Eliud Kipkoech Lagat, who was the subject of Ojwang’s comments. Police fired teargas on Monday to disperse protesters as they marched to the central police station, then again on Thursday as protesters set vehicles ablaze. Ojwang’s death rekindled persistent public anger about police brutality and other high-handedness in Kenya, where officers are rarely convicted. It came nearly a year after unprecedented protests that led to the killings of dozens of protesters and the disappearances and abductions of many more.
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