Human rights activists now want the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Eliud Kipkoech Lagat, prosecuted for the alleged murder of blogger Albert Omondi Ojwang’, who died under mysterious circumstances while in police custody.
In an urgent application, rights defenders Julius Ogogoh, Khelef Khalifa, Francis Auma, and Peter Agoro are seeking to initiate private prosecution proceedings
The group argue that investigative and prosecutorial authorities have failed to take appropriate action in the matter.
They alleged the investigative and prosecutorial agencies have acted “capriciously, corruptly and in blatant manner in failing, refusing and decline to investigate and prosecute the DIG”
The applicants said there is a pattern of police brutality in Kenya, citing figures from advocacy group Missing Voices which recorded 159 cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in 2024 alone.
According to the court documents, Albert Ojwang’ was arrested on June 6, from his rural home in Homa Bay County by officers believed to be from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
The blogger was taken away just as he was about to have lunch and transported to Nairobi.
He was reportedly booked at the Central Police Station under OB Number 137/7/6/2025.
Two days later, during a routine inspection of the cells in the early hours of June 8, officers allegedly found him unconscious.
He was rushed to Mbagathi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
A postmortem examination revealed injuries consistent with blunt force trauma, including rib hemorrhage, throat damage, and brain trauma, injuries inconsistent with the police narrative that he had hit his head against a wall.
The activists claim the entire chain of events from arrest, detention, torture, and death was orchestrated by Lagat, who is alleged to have filed a criminal defamation complaint against Ojwang’
“The orchestrator of all these under whose instructions others were working upon is still very much in office and most likely overseeing the said investigations by virtue of his office; he was very much present during the press briefings by the Inspector General of Police,” read the court documents.
The activists want the court to bar Lagat from accessing his office, participating in the ongoing investigations, or contacting any potential witnesses pending his prosecution.
They said that the application is not politically motivated but is aimed at securing justice for the deceased and his family
The petitioners warned that the failure to hold high-ranking officials accountable will only fuel further violations and public unrest.
They insist that the refusal by authorities to probe and prosecute Lagat is unreasonable and unjustified.
They argue that unless Lagat is prosecuted, the public will continue to suffer “special, exceptional and substantial injury.”
“This application is not motivated by malice or political interests. It is made in good faith and in pursuit of justice, both public and private,” read the documents.
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