Samson Taalam, the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) at Nairobi’s Central Police Station, has been given more time to determine his next move in the legal case surrounding the death of blogger Albert Ojwang’.
Taalam, who has been linked to the June 8 incident in which Ojwang’ died while in police custody, had filed a petition asking the High Court to convert the matter into an inquest rather than proceed with criminal charges. His legal team argues that what happened calls for a judicial inquiry not a criminal trial insisting the truth must be established through a more neutral process.
Represented by lawyer Danstan Omari, Taalam told the court that the majority of issues raised in the original petition were no longer relevant. “About 90 percent of the prayers we made have already been overtaken by events,” Omari stated in court, adding that they needed time to consult with Taalam before deciding how to proceed.
He requested that the case be mentioned again on Friday, July 4, so they could take full instructions from their client and give the court a clear direction on whether the petition will be withdrawn or pursued further.
“We’ll be in a better position to advise once we’ve heard directly from our client,” Omari said on Wednesday.
The judge agreed with the request, noting the importance of allowing the defence time to regroup before any decision is made. “We just have to give Omari time to get instructions. Let’s wait until Friday,” the judge remarked.
The case will now return to court on July 4 for mention, where a definitive course of action is expected to be laid out.
