Chief Government Pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor Withdraws From Albert Ojwang’s Autopsy

Chief Government Pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor has withdrawn from conducting Albert Ojwang's autopsy that was set for 2pm on Monday.

The autopsy that had earlier been scheduled to begin at 10am was moved to facilitate the arrival of Oduor.

According to reports, Oduor declined to conduct the autopsy on the grounds that Albert Ojwang is from his extended family.

In the build-up to the autopsy, Julius Juma, the family's lawyer, said the family was unable to give a concrete position on what caused the death of the blogger, prompting the urgent need for a pathologist's report. 

Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor (centre) flanked by officials from the DCI and Government Chemist. His autopsy report regarding Ken Walibora released on April 18, 2020, has raised questions.

The renowned government pathologist was in the company of Ojwang's family from Monday morning, with reports suggesting he was engaged in a meeting with the deceased's immediate family members. The particulars of what was discussed have, however, not been made public yet.

Despite the withdrawal of Oduor from participating in the autopsy, several other pathologists were on site for the exercise, including one from the police reforms working group and the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU). 

At the time of publication of this article, the exact cause of death of Ojwang' was yet to be made public, although the family lawyer, who viewed the body earlier, suggested the late teacher's body had fatal wounds on his head while other secondary injuries were on his hands and shoulders. 

Also present at the City Mortuary for the autopsy report were representatives from various lobby groups, including Amnesty, the Law Society of Kenya, Defenders' Coalition, VOCAL Africa, among others. The groups are adamant they would not relent until all circumstances around Ojwang's death were clear. 

"We want serious action taken against the officers involved. We are following up on the post-mortem to make sure we know the reason behind his death," Activist Hussein Khalid revealed on Monday. 

Notably, Odour is a well-known government pathologist with a career spanning several decades and involvement in countless high-profile cases.

One of the most recent cases he was involved in was that of Kasipul Member of Parliament Charles Ong'ondo Were, where he revealed the lawmaker died from excessive bleeding and collapse of vital organs