Former Police Spokesperson Charles Owino Wahongo has weighed in on the Albert Omondi Ojwang death saga saying Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Eliud Langat had as much right as anyone else to complain of defamation.
Owino says the deceased was arrested procedurally after the DIG filed a defamation complaint.
He derided those calling for Langat’s removal saying they could inadvertently be walking into a political trap.
“He has gone through a lot of attacks in the last two months. We have had politicians saying their person was removed to put another one in. It’s like something coordinated for a purpose that he should not be in that office,” Wahongo said on a talkshow hosted by Citizen TV on Tuesday morning.
The former Police Spokesperson now holds that those seeking Langat’s removal should wait for appropriate legal procedures to take force and allow investigations to determine his fate.
“He has a right as an individual to complain when he thinks he’s getting maligned,” said the former Police Spokesperson, adding “Calling for Langat to step down at this stage is too early because the person who has actual responsibility of custody is the OCS and his officers.”
Controversy has arisen on a lapse of about seven hours between the time Albert Omondi Ojwang was booked in at Central Police Station and the time when he was actually placed into the cell. Also officers based at the Central Police Station have claimed they are being victimized when all along detectives from DCI were in charge of the case.
Several officers have been interdicted including some who were, ostensibly, off-duty or on leave. The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has launched investigations into what could have led to the death within police precincts.
In another development Government pathologist Dr. Johansen Oduor yesterday declined to participate in the postmortem claiming the deceased was a close relative and his professional input could be impaired.
“This thing is escalating because this guy died in police custody and it is giving the police the wrong image. Everyone seems to be targeting Langat,” said Owino.
He however cast doubts on the suicide theory saying it was rather shallow.
“You can only come up with a theory of someone hitting his head if he was with two or three other people who could have witnessed. If there was nobody how do you come up with this theory?” Wahongo asked.
“The autopsy will be very important but most importantly those officers who were at the report office should be able to tell us what happened. Could some people have gotten their way into the cells at night?”
An autopsy scheduled for Monday 9 June, 2025 did not take place and was rescheduled for Tuesday 10th (today).
Meanwhile, the Law Society of Kenya has called for transparency in the investigations in order to allay public speculation.
LSK president Faith Odhiambo asked the Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja to release the names of the officers who have been interdicted and also those who moved Ojwang’ from Homa Bay county to Nairobi.
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