Outrage as 25-year-old man dies in Malindi police cell
Pressure is mounting on Malindi police after a 25-year-old man was found dead in a cell on Friday, April 17.
Pressure is mounting on Malindi police after a 25-year-old man was found dead in a cell on Friday, April 17.
According to Vocal Africa CEO Hussein Khalid, the young man identified as Lucky Odhiambo Okoth was found lifeless in a puzzling case yesterday morning.
While referencing police reports, Khalid indicated that Okoth was found dangling on an improvised rope made from pieces of clothes inside a cell at Malindi Police Station.
Okoth is said to have been in the cell alone. There were 21 other prisoners being held at the police station, according to Khalid.
“The report (police report) says there were 21 other prisoners at the station, but that Lucky was in one cell alone!” he said in a statement on Saturday, April 18.
It is unclear whether or not he took his life, with Khalid calling for an independent probe into the incident.
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Vocal Africa and the Malindi Community Human Rights Centre are following up on the incident as calls for the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) to join the probe increase.
The death comes even as IPOA has launched an investigation into the death of Benard Cheruiyot, who died in police custody on March 29 at the Keringet Police Station.
Authorities at the station initially reported that Cheruiyot sustained fatal injuries after repeatedly striking his head against a cell wall.
However, the victim’s family has publicly contested this account, asserting that Cheruiyot’s body bore extensive trauma, including visible injuries to his head, eyes, and mouth that they believe are inconsistent with self-harm.
The incident has intensified scrutiny of the National Police Service amid a sharp rise in custodial fatalities across the country since last year.
Human rights advocates and IPOA officials have characterised Cheruiyot’s death as part of a broader “state-sanctioned crisis”, noting that 20 people have already died in police hands in the first four months of 2026.
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