Passaris demands evidence of cybercrime charge against Albert Ojwang
Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris has called on the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Amin Mohammed to produce evidence backing the cybercrime charges against Albert Ojwang, a young man who died while in police custody.
In a statement shared on her X account on Thursday, June 12, 2025, Passaris questioned the legitimacy of the charges and the conduct of police officers during and after the arrest.
“The DCI, Mr. Mohamed Amin @DCI_Kenya, has defended transferring Albert Ojwang to Nairobi, citing cybercrime. I have no issue with the transfer. What I take serious issue with is the torture and death of a young Kenyan who now lies silent in his grave,” Passaris stated.
She said while she had no objection to Ojwang’s transfer to Nairobi, she was deeply troubled by the circumstances that led to his death.
Passaris emphasised that they must have had evidence if the DCI had grounds to arrest Ojwang. She called for full transparency, asking for the specific cybercrime he was accused of, the legal provisions used to justify his arrest, and whether a court order sanctioned the transfer.
More importantly, she demanded to know if any Kenyan law permits torture or mistreatment while in custody.
She accused DCI boss Amin of hiding behind legal processes while ignoring the brutality that led to Ojwang’s death.
She called on the DCI to share the charge sheet, make the evidence public, and show Kenyans the truth. The lawmaker urged Amin to lead with empathy and humanity, warning that justice delayed is justice denied.
“Since you arrested him, you must have had evidence. •What was the alleged cybercrime? •Which section of the law was applied? •Was the transfer backed by a court order? •Does any Kenyan law permit torture while in custody? You claim the law allows jurisdictional transfer. Fine,” the legislator said.
Adding
“But the law does not allow brutality, silence, or unexplained death. Share the charge sheet. Share the evidence. Show us the truth. Mr. Amin, I’ve spoken to you about empathy. It’s time to drop the stone face and lead with humanity.”
This comes hot on the heels of the DCI boss and Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, appearing before the Senate on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, where they detailed the social media posts that prompted Ojwang’s arrest.
Kanja told senators that Ojwang had published tweets accusing Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat of corruption within the National Police Service.
According to Kanja, one post claimed Lagat had strategically placed a trusted officer to oversee DCI desks, occurrence books, and traffic shifts to control revenue and intelligence flow.
Another post showed Lagat with senior officer Joseph Chirchir and was captioned with a statement suggesting the EACC was investigating Lagat for purchasing a Ksh335.9 million home in Dubai. The tweet included the phrase “Eliud Lagat Mafia police.”
Kanja said the posts were considered defamatory, unsubstantiated, and a matter of public concern. The DCI launched investigations under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act (5) of 2018, assigning the case to a team of cybercrime investigators.
He also revealed that the EACC was contacted to verify whether an investigation on Lagat was underway, and upon confirmation that no such probe existed, an arrest warrant was obtained.
The Communications Authority of Kenya later confirmed that the social media accounts @pixelpenerai and @KevinMwicheres were linked to the suspects. Ojwang was arrested shortly thereafter.
Autopsy against police report
However, public outrage intensified after a post-mortem examination revealed injuries inconsistent with the official police account. A police report had claimed that Ojwang died after hitting his head on a cell wall at Central Police Station.
But pathologist Bernard Midia, who conducted the autopsy alongside family pathologist Mutuma Zambezi, dismissed that claim.
Midia said the injuries on Ojwang’s body were not consistent with a single impact. Instead, the head injuries were spaced and found on the face, sides, and back of the head, indicating multiple blows, not a single fall or impact. He also pointed out other injuries across the upper limbs and torso, saying they were unlikely to have been self-inflicted.
“When we tie this together with the other injuries well spread across his body, this is unlikely to be a self-inflicted injury,” Midia stated.
