NAIROBI, Kenya Jun 12 – Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has called for full accountability in the death of Albert Ojwang, a teacher who died while in police custody, insisting that all individuals involved regardless of rank or role must face the law.Addressing the matter publicly for the first time, the Deputy President emphasized the need for individual criminal responsibility, warning that both the perpetrators and those who may have ordered or facilitated the killing will be brought to justice.“There must be individual criminal responsibility for the person who was involved in the killing of the slain teacher,” said Kindiki.“If there is anyone who was involved in any way if there was anyone who sent or ordered the killers to commit the crime whoever they are, they must face the law,” the Deputy President added.Ojwang, a resident of Homabay, was arrested on June 7, 2025, in connection with a cybercrime complaint reportedly filed by Deputy Inspector General of Police Eluid Lagat. He was transferred to Central Police Station in Nairobi, where he died less than 24 hours later.A post-mortem report released on June 10 revealed that the deceased suffered blunt force trauma to the head, neck compression, and extensive bruising, ruling out earlier claims that he died by self-harm.“If someone has done wrong you can always use the court or report to the police.We cant allow this country to degenerate to the extent of taking lives of innocent people and especially the downtrodden,”Kindiki asserted.The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), which is leading the investigation, has since classified 17 police officers as murder suspects and is preparing to arrest at least three officers in the coming days. IPOA Chairperson Issack Hassan confirmed that the investigation will also include top officials, including DIG Lagat, who is expected to record a statement.IPOA Chairperson Isaac Hassan told the National Assembly National Administration and Internal Security committee that the institution is preparing to arrest at least three officers linked to Ojwang’s death and is currently engaging the Inspector General (IG) of Police to facilitate the process. “We have taken a statement from all the police officers who had gone to arrest the late Ojuang from Homabay, all of them. We have also taken a statement from the officers who were in the Central Police Station from the OCS. There were 17 in total for the whole day and night shift,”he stated.Hassan assured the house team that any non-cooperation by police officers on the ongoing investigation and subsequent ones will attract ruthless actions including prosecution for trying to block investigations.“And we have taken the decision as a board that going forward, any non-cooperation by the police or command officers, there is an offence under the IPOA Act. We are going to start prosecuting them for non-cooperation, for blocking investigations, or for trying to cover-up anything,”Ojwang, a Migori resident , was arrested on June 7, 2025, by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) following a complaint by Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat regarding a social media post.The social media influencer and teacher was later transferred to Central Police Station in Nairobi. He was pronounced dead the following day at Mbagathi Hospital, with his body showing signs of extensive trauma.Post-mortem results revealed that Ojwang died of blunt force trauma to the head, neck compression, and multiple subcutaneous bruises, discrediting earlier police claims that he died by repeatedly hitting himself against a cell wall.Hassan dismissed the suicide claims by the National Police Service (NPS) terming it as a ‘poor attempt at cover-up’ affirming the independent institution commitment to unravel the truth on the murder of Ojwang. “On the issue of whether there are disappearance or criminal proceedings against officers involved, we are still conducting investigations. We have not yet completed, but we are very close to,”“I want to assure the committee and through the committee to the public that IPOA is not going to be used as a fire extinguisher to extinguish all fires which are generating from police misconduct,”the IPOA Chairperson stated.Questioned on why the Deputy Inspector General who filed the complaint hasn’t been arrested ,Hassan disclosed he will be summoned for questioning at the tail end of the investigation once the scope widens on the inquiry.“Yes, we were going to summon him, but our team, our technical team, the investigators, said that they would have preferred to take all statements from all the policemen involved, before they can now confront him, and him being the final person who made the complaint. And I think it is probably much better that way,”Hassan expressed.Investigations have revealed that the CCTV system in the OCS office at Central Police Station had been interfered with on the morning of June 8, just hours before Ojwang’s death was reported. The DVR had been reformatted, and power cables were deliberately disconnected, raising further suspicion of a coordinated cover-up.“We are not going to be used as a cover-up. We are going to talk to everyone who was involved with this matter, get all the evidence, and recommend prosecution of anyone who is involved in this death. No matter their station,” the IPOA Chairperson stated.The authority has also gathered critical forensic evidence, including blood samples, police occurrence book records (OB), and CCTV footage, and is awaiting the results of toxicology and DNA analysis from government chemists. ”I myself also went to the police station, central police station. And I also went and saw the cell where the young man was killed. There was a lot of blood on the floor and blood on the walls. It’s a scene that has stayed in my mind. It’s a very bad scene that I saw,”Hassan told MPs.IPOA is calling for urgent reforms in the handling of detainees, including the mandatory installation of CCTV cameras in corridors leading to cells, the use of body cameras by officers, and improved public access to police reporting systems.The authority is also pushing for amendments to the police training curriculum to emphasize human rights and accountability in policing.“We have to respect the rights of the prisoners, of course, but still, at the corridor of the cells, we need to have CCTV cameras. We also need to have the OB, the occurrence book, available, public access, we are able to follow where there are any injuries which are inputted by those who are mischievous,”Hassan stated.