Nairobi Central OCS Talaam detained for 15 days
By Zipporah Ngwatu, June 18, 2025A Nairobi Court has detained the Nairobi Central Officer Commanding Station (OCS), Samson Kiprotich Talaam, for 15 days.
In his ruling on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, Milimani Principal Magistrate Benmark Ekhubi stated that the prosecution submitted enough grounds to detain OCS Talaam.
“The prosecution has placed compelling reasons to detain the respondent (OCS Talaam), and he shall be remanded for 15 days to allow completion of investigations,” Magistrate Ekhubi ruled.
OCS Talaam, who is a person of interest in the murder of blogger and teacher Albert Omondi Ojwang, was arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts on Monday, June 16, 2025, for a miscellaneous application.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the state sought to detain him for 21 days to complete their investigations.
During the court proceedings, the prosecution told the court that there was a need to detain him to ensure he does not interfere with the ongoing investigations.
In its ruling, the court stated that it agrees with the ground of interference submitted by the prosecution.
Magistrate Ekhubi stated the police boss has been in service for 29 years; thus, there is a likelihood of his interference with the investigations.
However, the court ruled out the ground of OCS Talaam not being safe if released, citing that the ground is not compelling enough.
Magistrate Ekhubi also rejected the prosecution’s ground that the police boss was a flight risk.
Meanwhile, his defence team, led by Danstan Omari, Cliff Ombeta, and Felix Kiprono Keaton, asked the court to start counting the 15 days from the date he had been in police custody.
The Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), led by lawyer Victor Owiti, opposed the defence proposal, stating that IPOA had told the court it had only done 49% of the investigations and required more time to complete the remaining 51%.
Notably, they came to an agreement that the 15 days would be counted from June 16, 2025, when OCS Talaam was arraigned in court.
Lawyer Keaton had asked the court to decline the IPOA and prosecution request and release his client on a Ksh70,000 cash bail, stating that is what he could afford.
“We invite you to decline the application before you and admit the respondent (OCS Talaam) to a cash bail of Ksh70,000 because that is what he can afford,” lawyer Keaton told the court.
According to IPOA, OCS Talaam was arrested on June 13, 2025, when he presented himself at the DCI headquarters.
The DCI officers then escorted him to the IPOA headquarters, and he was then booked at Lang’ata Police Station, where he was detained before his arraignment at the Milimani Law Courts.
The matter will be mentioned on July 1, 2025, for further directions.