OCS Taalam granted time to decide on inquest bid in Albert Ojwang' death case

Samson Taalam, the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) of Nairobi's Central Police Station has been granted time to decide how he wishes to proceed with his case in which he is seeking an inquest into the death of blogger Albert Ojwang’.

Taalam is charged in connection with the June 8 death of Ojwang' in police custody and moved to the High Court seeking to have the matter proceed by way of an inquest rather than a criminal trial.

He maintains that the incident warrants a thorough judicial inquiry to establish the facts, rather than prosecution based on what he terms as premature conclusions.

Through his lawyer, Danstan Omari, he told the court that 90 percent of the prayers in the petition had already been overtaken by events.

Omari said they would be seeking to have the matter mentioned on Friday, July 4, to take full instructions from their client before advising on the appropriate course of action.

“We shall be seeking the matter to be mentioned on Friday to take instructions from our client because most of the prayers have been overtaken by events. Once we take full instructions, we can advise on the appropriate direction,” Omari said on Wednesday.

The judge agreed, stating: “We just have to give Omari time to get instructions. Let’s wait until Friday.”

The matter will now be mentioned on July 4 for directions, including whether Omari intends to withdraw the petition.