Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) of Police Eliud Lagat has stepped aside following sustained public calls to pave the way for investigations into the death of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang’ while in police custody over a week ago.
The decision came after a week of unrelenting public rage and just a day before a planned protest in Nairobi to further put pressure on him to resign.
In his statement signed on Monday, Mr Lagat said the functions of the office will be taken up by his ‘deputy’ until the conclusion of the ongoing investigations.
The police command structure, however, does not provide for a deputy position to the office, as the rank immediately below the DIG is that of regional commanders or formation commanders.
“I have today opted to step aside from the office of the Deputy Inspector-General – Kenya Police Service pending completion of investigations. The functions of the office will henceforth be performed by my deputy until completion of the investigations,” he wrote.
“I undertake to provide any support that may be required of me during the investigations of the unfortunate incident.”
Before his elevation to the DIG post, Mr Lagat was the commandant of the General Service Unit (GSU), a role he took after serving in various capacities in the police force. These roles included deputy head of the crime unit, head of investigations bureau and later as head of the bomb and hazardous materials unit.
Last Thursday, businesses in the Nairobi Business District (CBD) were grounded as protests rocked the city in public outrage over Ojwang’s death, with demonstrators vowing to sustain the riots every Tuesday and Thursday in succeeding weeks.
Property of unknown value was vandalised during the unrest as business owners fled the disorder and the county booked losses in revenue collections.
The deceased was picked up by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) at his parents’ home in Homa Bay County before being driven to Nairobi where he was killed.
Since the news of his death broke, citizens have been calling for Lagat to be punished after it emerged that he was the complainant in the case that led to Ojwang’s arrest.
‘Seasoned police officer’
On Monday, the Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen held a press conference in which he announced several directives in response to the uproar over Ojwang's death.
He ordered that all police stations should be equipped with CCTV surveillance and that tampering with cameras would be a criminal offence. This came after it emerged that cameras at Central Police Station were tampered with while Ojwang' was in custody.
CS Murkomen orders CCTV surveillance at all police stations
When asked whether DIG Lagat would resign, he replied: "He is a seasoned police officer who understands what it takes to carry out investigations and whether or not his conduct can affect those investigations...but we will cross that bridge when we get there. Let's leave Ipoa to do its part."
Less than three hours later, Lagat had issued a statement saying that he would step aside to allow the investigations to proceed.
