A police constable on duty the night blogger and teacher Albert Ojwang died in custody has confessed to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) that the fatal assault was ordered by senior officers — a revelation that threatens to blow the lid off an alleged cover-up involving high-ranking police officials.
According to Citizen TV, Police Constable James Mukhwana, who served as the cell sentry at Central Police Station the night Ojwang died, has submitted a sworn affidavit detailing how the young man was deliberately targeted for “discipline” on instructions that originated from the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Eliud Lagat.
Mukhwana claims he received a call from OCS Samson Taalam of Central Police Station on the night of Ojwang’s arrival, instructing him to prepare for a “disciplinary” operation sanctioned from above. “There is a suspect who will be brought in by DCI at 8 p.m. When he gets there, there is an order by the Deputy Inspector of Police to sort him — organize that,” Mukhwana recounts in his affidavit.
Orchestrated Assault
The constable alleges that four inmates, who were already in custody on minor city offences, were selected to carry out the beating. Each was reportedly paid KSh 2,000 and supplied with alcohol before being placed in a solitary cell with Ojwang.
The mission, he says, was intended to intimidate and rough him up — but not kill him. “Albert Ojwang was not supposed to be killed. He was supposed to be punished,” reads a chilling line from Mukhwana’s testimony.
However, as the beating unfolded, Mukhwana observed that the detainees had gone too far and that Ojwang was unresponsive. He says he raised the matter with a deputy officer who was standing in for OCS Taalam, only to be told — after a brief phone call — that everything would be “handled.”
Ojwang died in custody shortly afterward.
A Brewing Cover-Up
In the affidavit, Mukhwana paints a picture of panic and internal maneuvering aimed at shielding senior officers from accountability. He says that by morning, it became clear that he was being lined up as a scapegoat in what was quickly morphing into a murder scandal.
He also apologizes to the family of the deceased, stating unequivocally: “He was not supposed to die.”
Top Cop on the Spot
Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat, who has since stepped aside to allow investigations, had previously denied any involvement in Ojwang’s death. But Mukhwana’s confession — now under IPOA custody — directly implicates him in issuing the order that set the deadly chain of events in motion.
The revelations come amid mounting public pressure, with former Chief Justice David Maraga calling for the arrest of Lagat, Inspector General Douglas Kanja, and DCI boss Mohamed Amin by June 25. Human rights groups have also echoed these demands, citing a growing crisis of trust in the police service.
As investigations gather pace, the confession by Constable Mukhwana could become a critical piece of evidence in what is shaping up to be one of the most damning police abuse cases in recent history.
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