Protests and calls for accountability have erupted following the death of Eric Otieno, a 19-year-old boda boda rider from Mathare, who succumbed to severe internal injuries shortly after being released from police custody.
Otieno was detained by officers attached to the Muthaiga Police Station before being released on cash bail on August 2. According to his family, officers initially demanded KSh 10,000 for his release. Relatives who picked him up from the station reported that he was in critical condition and unable to walk unassisted, prompting an emergency rush to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead hours later.
An autopsy report revealed that Otieno died from severe blunt force trauma and internal bleeding, consistent with physical abuse and torture suffered during his detention.
“He left home healthy to earn a living on his motorcycle. He came out of that police station broken. We want to know who held the blunt instruments, who authorized the torture, and why a teenager had to pay with his life,” a family representative stated outside the city mortuary.
The news has triggered widespread outrage across Nairobi’s transport sector. Local boda boda riders and youth from Mathare took to the streets, demanding the immediate arrest and prosecution of the officers involved. Demonstrators briefly disrupted traffic along key routes, calling for an end to systemic police harassment and extortion targeted at young operators.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has opened a formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding Otieno’s arrest, detention, and subsequent death. Investigators have visited Muthaiga Police Station to examine station logs, interview officers on duty during the incident, and obtain medical reports.
Civil rights organizations have urged IPOA and the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to expedite the inquiry and ensure that command responsibility is held accountable alongside individual officers involved in the assault.
