Interior CS: Every effort will be made to punish those behind Ojwang’s death

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has promised that the government will use every resource available to deliver justice in the case of Albert Ojwang, the social media influencer who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances.

Speaking before an informal Senate session on Wednesday, Murkomen assured senators that no one involved in the killing will be protected, and that the Ministry of Interior will fully support investigators to ensure accountability.

"To address this very serious matter of the death of Albert, I will cooperate. I will put every effort within my ministry to ensure that justice is served to this family and that those who were involved in this action will be punished severely," Murkomen told the Senate.

"Such an act should not happen within police custody," he added.

The Interior CS described Ojwang’s death as a national shame and said it had "deeply failed the conscience of our nation."

He sent his condolences to the family, saying he understood their pain as a parent himself.

"Parents have lost their only child. I acknowledge this not as an isolated issue, because one life lost under such circumstances like Ojwang is a life too many," Murkomen said.

Ojwang was reportedly picked up in Homa Bay and brought to Nairobi, where he was taken to Central Police Station at around 9 pm on Sunday.

However, police records show he was only booked at 1 am, and his body was later moved to the Nairobi Funeral Home at 2:44 am.

A postmortem conducted by five pathologists confirmed that he had been tortured and beaten to death.

Murkomen said that although he cannot interfere in specific investigations, his ministry will offer every policy and financial support required to make sure justice is served.

"The Constitution did not give me the eyes to see who is culpable. Those eyes have been given to the investigative authorities under Article 245 of the Constitution," he said.

The Interior boss explained that the Constitution bars him, the President, or any government official from directing the Inspector General on specific investigations, but he has the power to issue policy guidelines and provide support.

"I want to promise the family of Albert, the people of Kenya and this House that every effort will be put, every resource that is required, we will do our best to make sure justice is served," he said.

Murkomen said the country now has better legal mechanisms to deal with police brutality, thanks to constitutional reforms.

He pointed out that past cases had shown that police officers could be held accountable, citing the murders of Martin Kome in 2013 and lawyer Willie Kimani in 2016, where suspects were prosecuted.

"This is not an isolated issue. The issue of police brutality has been part of our national discourse for far too long. But a number of police officers who have committed such heinous acts have been held to account," he said.

The Interior CS stressed that his ministry will not tolerate cover-ups and will work with the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to ensure there is no interference from the Executive.

"We would do everything within the ministry to ensure that there is no shielding of any individual, there is no cover-up from the part of the Executive," he said.

"Let it be known not just in this House, but to the country, that in the same manner that this House is demanding accountability, it’s the same manner I demand accountability from the Inspector General of Police—not to myself—but to the people of Kenya," Murkomen added.

He also told the Senate that Article 245(4) of the Constitution guarantees the independence of the police and IPOA, and therefore, accountability must come through established legal channels.

The CS welcomed the Senate’s decision to summon investigative and oversight bodies to explain what actions are being taken.

The Senate had suspended its plenary sitting for two hours to allow all senators to question top security officials, including Murkomen, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, DCI Director Mohamed Amin, and a representative from IPOA, over the circumstances surrounding Ojwang’s death