NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 13 – Pressure is mounting for the removal of Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat following the death of teacher and blogger Albert Omondi Ojwang while in police custody.A second petition seeking Lagat’s suspension was filed Friday at the Milimani High Court.The application, submitted by lawyer Ndegwa Njiru and the Mt. Kenya Jurists, calls for the matter to be certified as urgent and heard on a priority and ex-parte basis.The petitioners are seeking conservatory orders to bar Lagat from accessing his office, performing the duties of Deputy IG, or accessing any National Police Service facility pending investigations by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the commencement of possible prosecution against those found culpable.They also want the conservatory orders to remain in place until the main petition is determined.According to the petition, Ojwang was that implicated Lagat in corruption.The petitioners argue that because Lagat was the complainant in the cybercrime case against Ojwang, who was arrested on June 6 by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over social media posts about him, he should be treated as a person of interest in the subsequent death.The petitioners allege attempts to tamper with evidence, including interference with CCTV footage at Central Police Station, where Ojwang was detained. They warn of a potential cover-up if Lagat remains in office.They expressed concern that despite ongoing calls for a thorough, impartial, and expeditious investigation, no action has been taken against the Deputy IG, who is among those linked to Ojwang’s death.“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,” the court papers read.The petitioners insist that justice for Ojwang and public confidence in the rule of law can only be ensured if Lagat is temporarily removed from his duties until investigations and any resulting prosecution are concluded.This latest petition follows an earlier suit filed on June 11 by four human rights activists—Julius Ogogoh, Khelef Khalifa, Francis Auma, and Peter Agoro—who also sought to privately prosecute Lagat for murder.In their application, the activists requested the court to grant them leave to file a private prosecution against Lagat under Section 203, as read with Section 204, of the Penal Code.“The Honourable Court be pleased to grant the Applicants leave to institute private prosecution against the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mr. Eliud Kipkoech Lagat for the offense of murder of one Albert Omondi Ojwang’,” read the application in part. They also asked the court to bar him from accessing his office, interfering with investigations, or contacting any potential witnesses—many of whom are his subordinates.On Thursday, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) announced that all individuals linked to the arrest, transfer, and detention of the late Albert Ojwang, including Deputy Inspector General of Police Lagat, will record statements as investigations into his death in police custody intensify.Speaking before the National Assembly’s National Security and Internal Administration committee, IPOA Chairperson Issack Hassan disclosed that eventually the Deputy Inspector General will be“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 Hassan expressed.IPOA has revealed that all 17 police officers involved in the arrest, transportation, and detention of the late Albert Ojwang are now considered murder suspects with active investigations ongoing.Also on the trail are two civilians, including detainees who were present during the arrest of Ojwang, who have already written statements as part of the supporting evidence on the ongoing investigations.The house team was told 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.