Joshua Mutua, the Head of Forensics and Crime Scene Investigations at the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), has become one of the most important witnesses in the ongoing murder trial over the death of blogger and teacher Albert Ojwang.
Mutua took the witness stand to explain how IPOA investigators examined the CCTV system at Nairobi’s Central Police Station after Ojwang died while in police custody.
According to his testimony, investigators visited the station on June 9, 2025, where they documented the surveillance system before carrying out a forensic examination of the Digital Video Recorder (DVR).
He told the court that the DVR had initially failed to display footage because one of its power cables had been disconnected.
After the cable was reconnected, investigators reviewed the system logs and discovered that the hard drives had been formatted on the morning of June 8, 2025, raising concerns that crucial evidence may have been deliberately erased.
Despite the formatting, Mutua testified that IPOA’s forensic team successfully recovered important CCTV recordings using digital forensic techniques.
The recovered footage was later presented in court and showed Ojwang arriving at Central Police Station while conscious and able to walk. Additional footage also captured events leading to his transfer to Mbagathi Hospital.
Mutua further explained that investigators documented the condition of the DVR, photographed the entire CCTV installation and preserved the equipment as evidence before taking it for forensic analysis.
His testimony has played a significant role in helping the court understand what happened to the surveillance system and whether attempts were made to interfere with digital evidence.
As the trial continues, the forensic findings presented by Joshua Mutua remain central to the prosecution’s efforts to establish the sequence of events surrounding Albert Ojwang’s death.