We thought it would end with Albert Ojwang, or Julia Njoki. Muthaiga police arrested Eric Otieno on Saturday and on Tuesday he was dead.

Another life lost in police custody. Another family left with questions. Another silence where there should be accountability.

The death of a boda boda rider from Mathare after detention at Muthaiga Police Station is not an isolated tragedy, it echoes the unresolved shadow of Albert Ojwang’s death. How many more names must we turn into hashtags before we confront the truth?

Police cells must never become waiting rooms for death. They are spaces of lawful custody, not unrecorded endings. When the State takes a citizen into its hands, it assumes a duty of care, not a license for cruelty, neglect or disappearance.

This is how impunity becomes culture, not in loud moments, but in repeated silence. And we must refuse to normalise it. It also strikes at the heart of the rule of law, undermining the constitutional guarantee under Article 50 that every person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Justice must not be begged for. It must be demanded, enforced, and seen.