A legal dispute involving a senior police officer and a mobile service provider played out at the Milimani Law Courts after concerns were raised about access to a seized phone line. The case centres on former Nairobi Central Officer Commanding Station OCS Samson Taalam, who told the court that he had been unable to renew or replace his Safaricom SIM card without a court order.
Through his lawyer, Taalam explained that he tried to have his line restored after his SIM card stopped working, but Safaricom allegedly insisted that a court directive was required before any action could be taken. This, he said, left him unable to control a number that was still active and allegedly being misused.
The court heard that the request to renew the line was necessary to help Taalam regain control of his mobile number. According to his lawyer, the number had allegedly been used improperly after it was taken by investigators during his arrest. Magistrate Carolyne Nyaguthii considered the application and allowed it, directing Safaricom to facilitate the renewal of the phone line.
Photo of Albert Ojwang who was killed while in police custody. Photo Courtesy:
The order was issued as Taalam continued to testify in a separate matter in which he accused officers from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority of misusing his phone while he was in custody.
He told the court that he was arrested on Friday, June 13, 2025, and held for two days before IPOA officers requested his mobile phone for investigations. He said he handed over the device willingly, together with the PINs needed to unlock it.
Taalam testified that after he was taken to court on a miscellaneous application, a relative later contacted him with troubling information. The relative allegedly received calls from unknown people demanding money to help secure his bail. According to Taalam, the callers asked for amounts ranging from Ksh.10,000 to Ksh.80,000, claiming the payments would lead to his release.
Disturbed by these claims, Taalam said he lodged formal complaints, insisting that his phone was being used without his consent. He told the court that the phone and a photocopy of his national identity card were taken by two IPOA officers, whom he identified as Jibril and Njihia.
He maintained that the phone was only meant to be used for investigations and for no other purpose.
The phone was seized as part of investigations into the death of Albert Ojwang, a teacher turned blogger who died on June 8, 2025, while in custody at Central Police Station.
The matter is scheduled to be mentioned again on March 25, 2026, for further directions before the Milimani Law Courts.
