A petition has been filed in court seeking the immediate removal of Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat over the arrest, torture and death of blogger Albert Ojwang while in police custody.

Filed under a certificate of urgency by lawyer Ndegwa Njiru and the Mt Kenya Jurists, the application asks the court to bar Lagat from accessing his office, performing any duties of Deputy IG or visiting any police facility pending investigations by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority and the possible prosecution of those behind Ojwang’s death.

The petitioners argue that Ojwang, who was arrested and held at Central Police Station, was later found severely injured and died shortly after.

A government autopsy revealed he had been tortured and strangled, contradicting police claims that he may have harmed himself.

"DIG Lagat, being the initial complainant in the cybercrime case, should be a person of interest in the resulting death and that his continued presence in office poses a serious conflict of interest and could lead to interference with investigations," the petition reads.

They cited evidence tampering, including interference with CCTV footage at the station, as part of a possible cover-up.

The petitioners argued that Lagat, by virtue of his rank, still has command authority and access to investigative resources, which could compromise the process.

"A thorough, impartial and expeditious investigation, or so they call it, has yet to result in any action against the Deputy IG, who is a far more senior officer and potentially implicated," they added.

The petitioners maintained that allowing Lagat to remain in office threatens justice and undermines public confidence in the police service.

"There are allegations of evidence tampering — for example, reports that the CCTV camera at Central Police Station was interfered with or disabled during the material time — which heighten fears of a cover-up if the status quo persists," the court papers say.

On Thursday, a separate group of human rights activists filed a petition in court seeking to privately prosecute Lagat over Ojwang’s death.

The activists — Julius Ogogoh, Khalef Khalef, Francis Auma and Peter Agoro- said police and prosecutors had failed to act on the matter.