Several petitioners have moved to Milimani Law Courts seeking the removal of Deputy Inspector General(DIG) of Police Eliud Kanja following the death of Teacher Albert Ojwang at the Central Police Station in Nairobi last weekend.
Among them is lawyer Ndengwa Njiru and Mt. Kenya Jurists, who want the ‘urgent’ matter to be given a priority by the court. According to court papers, the petitioners want the court to bar Lagat from accessing his office as well as performing duties of DIG. Aside from that, they want the court to bar him from accessing any facility under the National Police Service pending investigations by the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the commencement of prosecution against those responsible for Ojwang’s death.
Here are three reasons why they want Lagat to step aside pending hearing and determination of petitions filed in court.
- Conflict of Interest
The petitioners say Lagat is a person of interest in the case because he is the one who filed a cybercrime complaint against the deceased. There will be a conflict of interest if he remains in office, that could eventually lead to interference with investigations.
2. Fear of cover up
IPOA, while appearing before parliament, revealed that CCTV footages of events around the time Ojwang was in custody at Central police station had been tampered with. Because of the reports, the petitioners say there is likely to be further cover-ups if Lagat doesn’t step down.
“A thorough, impartial and expeditious investigation,” or so they call it, has yet to result in any action against the Deputy IG, who is a far more senior officer and potentially implicated. The Deputy IG remains in office and, by virtue of his high rank, retains command authority and access to investigative resources even as the probe into Ojwang’s death unfolds,” they argue.
3. Safeguarding the rule of law
The petitioners say that to safeguard the rule of law and justice for Ojwang’, Lagat should be barred from his official duties until the matter is settled.
