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A storm has been brewing over the death of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang in police custody, with contradictions emerging between official police accounts and the response from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), casting fresh doubts.
During a Senate session on Wednesday, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja said that the late Ojwang was one of five bloggers being investigated for spreading false claims about Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat.
The bloggers had alleged that Lagat was corrupt and under investigation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
The DIG then lodged a complaint that triggered investigations into the defamatory statements.
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Douglas Kanja, the Inspector General of Police
“The investigating team wrote a letter to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to confirm whether Eliud Lagat was under any investigation. Similarly, a request was made to the Communications Authority of Kenya, CA, in writing to provide registration details and preserve posts associated with the X account handle @PixelPioneerAI, account name Pixel Pioneer,” the IG told Senators.
According to Kanja, the investigating team also requested additional information from the CA regarding another X account, @KevinMoishyleez.
He added that the CA responded with registered details and the relevant posts of the account.
Following this, officers arrested Kevin Moinde in Kisii County. Moinde allegedly confessed and named Ojwang and three others—Dorcas Mawia, Douglas Maligiri, and Peter Mbugua—as part of the group behind the defamatory posts.
The police say they then traced Ojwang and arrested him in Homa Bay County.
But later on Wednesday, the Communications Authority issued a public statement denying that it provided real-time tracking information about Ojwang or anyone else.
The late Albert Ojwang
The regulator clarified that it does not have access to live location data and does not assist police operations unless there’s a valid court order.
“We note with grave concern the misleading claims on social media platforms alleging that CA provided data on the whereabouts of the deceased to law enforcement. This position is factually erroneous. We categorically distance CA from any involvement whatsoever on this matter,” read the statements.
Communication Authority
This has now sparked public debate. How exactly did the police identify and locate the suspects? Did they follow the legal process for accessing user data? Or were privacy rights violated?
Many Kenyans and civil society organisations are also demanding a full, independent investigation, not only into Ojwang’s death, but also into how the data was accessed and used.
Meanwhile, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) is investigating the cause of death.
A post-mortem report found that Ojwang had suffered blunt force trauma and neck compression, which contradicts the earlier claim by the police that he had taken his own life.
As the public waits for clarity, pressure is mounting on the police and the government to expedite the death of Albert Ojwang in police custody.