Opposition leaders have issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the Kenya Kwanza administration for the resignation and prosecution of Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat.
Led by Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, the leaders called for swift arrest of Lagat following the brutal murder of Albert Ojwang in police custody.
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Lagat was the complainant against Ojwang and has been adversely mentioned in his murder.
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The Kalonzo, Gachagua team have termed his prosecution "a state-sanctioned execution".
“In light of the foregoing, we are calling not just for the resignation but for the arrest and prosecution of DIG Eliud Langat within 24 hours from the issuance of this statement,” they said.
In a strongly worded joint statement released Wednesday and read by former CS Justin Muturi on behalf of the team, the leaders further demanded that the junior officers currently suspended be given witness protection with immediate effect.
“Their lives are in danger because they know the truth,” Muturi said.
Painting a harrowing picture of a young life snuffed out at the hands of the police, the leaders described the death as emblematic of a growing wave of intimidation, abductions and extrajudicial killings targeting government critics.
The 31-year-old, a Kiswahili and Religious Studies teacher based in Voi, had returned to his rural home in Homa Bay on June 6 to spend time with his family.
The circumstances of his transfer from Mawego police station in Homa Bay to Nairobi’s Central police station, some 400 kilometres away, they said, remain deeply suspicious.
“He was booked at Central police station at 9:35pm on Saturday, June 7, under OB number 137/7/6/2025.”
However, 26 hours between his arrest and his arrival in Nairobi are unaccounted for.
The leaders also issued a list of seven demands to the government which include full disclosure of the arrest and transfer process.
They raised urgent questions about the legality of the arrest, including whether there was a formal complaint filed by Lagat, at which police station it was recorded, and whether due process under the Criminal Procedure Code was followed.
They also demanded to know who authorised Ojwang’s transfer to Nairobi, which officers were involved, and why such an extreme measure was taken for an alleged online post.
“Albert’s family has questions. We have questions. Kenyans have questions and the international community has questions,” Muturi said.
CCTV footage from Central police station, where surveillance is expected to be active, they said is yet to be released.
“We demand to know where the footage showing Albert being brought in and leaving the station is and whether it has been provided to the family lawyers. If there is no footage, we demand to know who ordered for the cameras to be switched off.”
They dismissed the directive by the Director of Public Prosecutions to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority to investigate the case within seven days, terming it a diversionary tactic meant to delay justice.
Instead, they argued that the DPP should have directly instructed the National Police Service and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, as is mandated by the constitution.
In a further escalation, the opposition accused telecommunications giant Safaricom of being complicit in the surveillance, tracing and abduction of citizens like Ojwang.
They warned the company of legal action and threatened a mass boycott of its services if it does not publicly disassociate from police excesses.
They also renewed their call for June 25 to be observed as a holiday in remembrance of those who have lost their lives under what they described as a “heinous and degenerate regime.
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