Forensic pathologist Bernard Midia has stated that the injuries sustained by Albert Ojwang, who died in police custody, were not self-inflicted, contradicting the initial police narrative.

Speaking on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, after conducting an autopsy at Nairobi Funeral Home, Midia, while representing all five pathologists who took part in the autopsy, revealed that Ojwang’s body bore multiple injuries consistent with a physical struggle, raising serious questions about the circumstances of his death.

Signs of struggle

“When you combine all the injuries in the body, they are consistent with a struggle,” Midia stated.

“There were signs of struggle, generally, for consumption, but they are well described in the report that we’ve delivered for investigative purposes.”

He noted that the injuries were spread all over the body, including the upper limbs, trunk, and head, with bleeds and hematomas on the scalp, face, sides, and back of the head.

These findings, Midia explained, make it “unlikely to be self-inflicted injury.”

Police narrative questioned

The police had claimed Ojwang died after hitting his head against a cell wall, but Midia dismissed this, stating, “Hitting against a blunt [object], such as a wall, would have a particular pattern, a frontal bleed, but the bleeds that we found… were partially spread on all aspects.”

The widespread injuries, including defensive marks on Ojwang’s hands and back noted by the family’s lawyer, suggest he may have been protecting himself from an assault.

Midia added that specimens have been taken, and “other investigative agencies are going to assist in getting other pieces of evidence which, pieced up together, will help in corroborating what we’ve just found.”

Demand for accountability

The autopsy, delayed a day after pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor recused himself due to a familial connection, fueled public outrage, with activists rallying outside City Mortuary on Monday.

Midia confirmed the family’s satisfaction with the process, noting, “The family is well represented, and we are in agreement as to what I’m speaking about here now.

We are in concurrence.” Ojwang’s detention hours before his death has become a flashpoint for concerns about police treatment of vocal online figures.

While Midia’s findings clarify the injuries were not self-inflicted, questions remain about who or what caused them.

The family, backed by lawyers and human rights groups, demands swift action to uncover the truth.