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By Portus Chege
The recent death at the hands of Kenyan police of a teacher-cum-blogger painfully recalls the assassination in 2009 of an outspoken human rights activist and brings into sharp focus the spectre of police extrajudicial killing in Kenya.
Albert Omondi Ojwang’, a tutor and social media influencer, was tortured before being murdered by police officers acting at the behest of what is suspected to be one of their seniors. Investigations are currently underway to establish the circumstances under which he was killed and the identity of those who carried out the heinous crime.
A unanimous joint autopsy report by the government and family pathologists returned the chilling verdict: Albert was strangled.
In 2009, lawyer and human rights activist Oscar King’ara was assassinated in Nairobi for his efforts in investigating and documenting extrajudicial killings by Kenyan police. It’s believed that Oscar fell victim to the selfsame menace that he indefatigably and gallantly fought to expose.
In a murder that has shaken the nation to its very core, Albert’s is a chilling reminder that extrajudicial killing is on the upsurge in Kenya and threatens the fabric of the nation as we know it.
Albert’s murder brings the government squarely into sharp view. No less a person than the second in command in Kenya’s internal security structure is suspected to have called the shots (pun fully intended) in the blogger’s murder.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police Eliud Lagat, who had lodged a complaint over what the DIG regarded as defamatory content earlier posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) by Albert, is under intense pressure to step aside for there to be meaningful investigations. Despite stepping aside from his duties amid the ongoing probe, the high-ranking officer has not been detained.
Thus far, top police reaction to the shocking murder has been far from persuasive. In fact, it would have been laughable were it not tragic.
The Kenyan public, legislators, civil society organizations, and foreign missions all have urged the DIG to step aside, pending transparent investigations by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).
Notably, the United States and the UK have called for transparent investigations as Kenyans pour into the streets of the capital to protest Albert’s murder and suspect Lagat’s continued stay in office, which they argue could compromise the investigations.
Of deeper significance is that the rising cases of extrajudicial killing in Kenya amount to a gross violation of the human rights of citizens. It also amounts to breaches of international human rights treaties Kenya has ratified, especially the Convention Against Torture and Enforced Disappearances.
Enforced disappearances and excessive use of force, including lethal force, have long been documented in the country.
Missing Voices, a human rights Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that seeks to end enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions in Kenya, in a May 2025 Report, documented a total of 159 cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in 2024. Out of that, 104 (65 pc) were incidents of police-related killings, while 55 (35 pc) were those of enforced disappearances. Most of the victims were youth aged between 18 and 34.
According to “‘The Cry of Blood’: Report on Extrajudicial Killings and Disappearances,” a 2008 Report by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), a statutory body whose brief is the promotion and protection of human rights; and investigation and documentation of human rights violations, there was need for a thorough inquiry into the role of police officers implicated in violations and prosecution of perpetrators.
Instructively, Oscar handily contributed to the Report, which accused the Kenyan police of killing or torturing more than 8000 people as part of a crackdown on the Mungiki criminal organization.
Oscar subsequently met his death in what clearly was the ultimate price for his human rights work.
Then, Government spokesperson Dr. Alfred Mutua (now CS for Labor) had earlier warned Oscar to go slow on his activities or else…
No less a personage than UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Prof. Philip Alston, while on a visit to Kenya, urged the Kibaki government to expedite independent and transparent investigations into Oscar’s grisly murder. As they say, the rest is history.
Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is a non-derogable right enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. The Constitution also guarantees the right to peaceful assembly, expression, and demonstration.
In July 2024, over 60 Kenyan youthful protestors are said to have been killed by police, several injured, others abducted and tortured, and others are still missing and feared dead.
The nationwide Gen-Z protests were against the escalating cost of living and a punitive law, the Finance Bill 2024, which sought to introduce punitive tax measures. The protests nearly brought down President William Ruto’s government, and the president had to withdraw the proposed law.
The US government, through then-ambassador Meg Whitman, sharply criticized the Kenyan government and demanded accountability over extrajudicial killings, human rights violations, abductions, and enforced disappearances of innocent protestors. Meanwhile, the government kept a studious silence, while protesting its innocence.
Albert Omondi Ojwang’s brutal murder is not an isolated incident—it is a grim testament to the unchecked culture of extrajudicial killings that continues to plague Kenya. From Oscar King’ara’s assassination in 2009 to the recent police killings of protesters and bloggers, the pattern is undeniable: impunity reigns while justice remains elusive.
The Kenyan government must no longer feign ignorance or offer hollow assurances. The world is watching. The public is demanding accountability. If the state truly values the rule of law and the sanctity of human life, then swift, transparent, and independent investigations must be pursued without compromise or political interference.
Albert’s death, like so many before him, must not be in vain. It must serve as a rallying cry for systemic reform, an end to police brutality, and a reaffirmation that no one—not even those in the highest echelons of power—is above the law. Kenya’s future hinges on its ability to confront this scourge head-on. The time for empty promises is over. The time for justice is now.
