The tragic death of Julia Njoki has exposed yet again how deep the rot within Kenya’s police system runs, and Michael Muchiri, the National Police Service spokesperson, continues to play the same old game of cover-up, blame-shifting, and dishonesty.
His statement distancing the police from Julia’s death by claiming she died in prison, not in police custody, is not just suspicious it is an insult to the intelligence of Kenyans and the grief of Julia’s family.
Julia was arrested during the Saba Saba protests on July 7, 2025, and her family says she was brutally assaulted by police officers at Nanyuki Police Station.
She later died in hospital. A medical report allegedly shows she suffered blunt force trauma to her head. So why is Muchiri desperately trying to detach the police from any responsibility?
Muchiri’s credibility is already under heavy scrutiny following his admission that the police lied about the death of Albert Ojwang in another case.
Back then, the police claimed Albert committed suicide, only for an autopsy to reveal he died from head trauma and neck compression. Muchiri publicly admitted the lie after days of pressure.
Now, in Julia’s case, instead of pushing for the truth and transparency, he is back to sanitizing a narrative that doesn’t hold water. It seems like his role is not to inform the public but to protect the system at all costs, no matter how ugly the truth might be.
The fact that the police quickly pushed the narrative that Julia died in Nanyuki Women’s Prison after remand, while not even acknowledging the assault allegations or the medical report, is suspicious.
Muchiri didn’t even mention that her family had raised serious claims of her being beaten unconscious by police before being taken to prison. The public sees through these tactics.
When a police spokesperson like Muchiri keeps playing the same denial card each time a Kenyan dies in police hands, people will no longer believe anything the institution says. His press briefings are beginning to sound like scripted defense statements, not truth-seeking efforts.
What makes this worse is that even after previous scandals like Albert Ojwang’s, the police have learned nothing. Instead, they continue hiding behind technicalities like ‘she died in prison, not in police custody’ as though moving a dying person from a cell to a prison erases what happened before.
Muchiri, being the face and voice of this denial, cannot escape responsibility. He is complicit in building a wall of lies around police brutality, protecting rogue officers from facing justice.
Julia’s death could have been avoided, and if the police had acted with even the slightest humanity, she might still be alive.
The country has every reason to doubt the police and people like Muchiri who represent them. His job is supposed to bridge the gap between citizens and police. Instead, he keeps widening it by being the chief messenger of half-truths and damage control.
A young woman has died under suspicious circumstances, and the last thing her grieving family needs is a government mouthpiece whitewashing the violence she went through.
Muchiri must be held accountable not only for the lies he tells the public but also for the damage his statements do to families seeking justice.
Kenya cannot afford more deaths covered in lies. We must demand an independent investigation into Julia Njoki’s death, not the recycled narratives fed to us by Muchiri and the NPS.
Until then, justice remains out of reach, and blood remains on the hands of those shielding the truth.
