How a chain of events is threatening Deputy IG Lagat

Deputy Inspector General Kenya Police Service Eliud Lagat during briefing the press following Albert Omondi Ojwang's death in police custody at Central Police station, Nairobi. June 9, 2025. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat is walking a tightrope and risks losing his job if a petition for his removal is filed.

Since the murder of Albert Omondi Ojwang, politicians, human rights groups, and the public have called for his ouster.

Anger has been directed at Lagat because he is the one who filed the complaint that led to Ojwang’s arrest in Homa Bay and death at the Central Police Station, Nairobi.

An autopsy revealed that Ojwang died from head injuries, neck compression, and multiple soft tissue trauma, ruling out self-inflicted injuries as claimed by police.

For the past three days, calls have intensified for Lagat to step aside to allow an impartial investigation.

Lagat had filed a formal complaint with the Cybercrime Unit of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), alleging that Ojwang and another blogger, Kevin Moinde, published false and malicious information on social media.

The posts accused Lagat of corruption, claiming he strategically placed trusted officers in key DCI and traffic positions to control revenue flows.

Yesterday, protesters paralysed Nairobi’s Central Business District, chanting, “Lagat must go".

A day earlier, Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale was blunt: “It is not enough to ask the Deputy IG to resign. We want Eliud Lagat arrested so he can write a statement from a police station, making it clear he has a responsibility.”

If the DIG ignores the resignation calls, the law allows any Kenyan to file a petition for his removal with the National Police Service Commission (NPSC). Under Section 17(1) of the National Police Service Act, the DIG may be removed for serious violations of the Constitution or other laws, including Chapter Six, gross misconduct, physical or mental incapacity, incompetence, bankruptcy, or any other just cause.

Section 17(2) states, “A person desiring the removal of a Deputy Inspector-General on any grounds specified in subsection (1) may present a petition to the Commission setting out the alleged facts constituting that ground.”

The NPSC, subject to Article 47 of the Constitution, will consider the petition. If at least two-thirds of its members are satisfied, it will investigate and evaluate the facts or evidence. If the allegation is substantiated by a two-thirds majority, the commission will report its findings and make a binding recommendation to the President.

Pending investigations, the President may, on the NPSC’s advice, suspend the DIG, who will continue to receive half of their remuneration and benefits.

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) has already recorded statements from officers on duty at Central Police Station, including the Officer Commanding Station and his deputy, cell sentry officers, and those assigned to the Report Office, all of whom have been interdicted.

It has emerged that additional officers were involved in Ojwang’s murder and an attempted cover-up. Ipoa reports that Ojwang was taken from the police station, blindfolded, and driven to the General Service Unit (GSU) headquarters.

The five DCI officers who arrested him —Wesley Kipkorir Kirui, Dennis Kinyoni, Milton Mwanze and Boniface Rabudo—handed him over to four GSU officers. The officers, accompanied by a senior officer, drove to DCI headquarters briefly before taking Ojwang to an isolated building, where he was severely beaten and then returned to Central Police Station.

Ojwang died on the night of June 8 after being arrested earlier that day at his home in Kakoth, Kokwanyo village. Initially, police claimed the 31-year-old teacher attempted suicide by hitting his head against a cell wall.

Inspector General Douglas Kanja apologised, stating, “Based on IPOA’s report, it is not true that he hit his head against the wall. That was the initial report we received. I tender my apology on behalf of the National Police Service for that misinformation.”

For the second day, Kanja and DCI boss Mohammed Amin appeared before the Senate, where the police boss promised to investigate all individuals implicated, including his deputy.

“Everyone whose name is mentioned in connection with Albert Ojwang’s death must record a statement and explain their role. If the DIG is mentioned, he will definitely provide a statement,” he said.

Amin identified the Central Police Station OCS, Taalam, as a prime suspect for propagating the false suicide narrative. Taalam allegedly kept his immediate superior, Central Sub-County Police Commander Stephen Okal, uninformed and was reportedly receiving instructions from elsewhere.