Soy MP defends DIG Lagat, urges kenyans to trust investigative process
By Kenneth Mwenda, July 14, 2025Soy MP David Kiplagat has called on Kenyans to remain calm and respect the investigative process following the clearance of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Eliud Lagat over the controversial death of blogger Albert Ojwang in police custody.
Speaking during a local TV interview on July 14, 2025, Kiplagat defended DIG Lagat, describing him as a law-abiding citizen who was merely seeking justice after being defamed. He urged the public to avoid being “a lynching mob” and instead let the justice system take its course.
“DIG Lagat was a complainant. He did what any other Kenyan would do, he filed a complaint of defamation through the proper legal channels,” said Kiplagat.
“So, even if you use your own intelligence, there is no way you can legally do the right process (0:48) by filing the complaint so that the thing can be investigated. And all of a sudden, you order the killing of the suspect. You will be leaving a lot of trails unless you are not very intelligent.”
The MP argued that the real fault lies with junior officers at the Central Police Station in Nairobi, where Ojwang died. According to Kiplagat, Lagat lodged his complaint with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), after which Ojwang was arrested in Homa Bay and transported to the capital.
“It is at the Central Police Station, the officers at the Central Police Station, who messed things up. So you cannot blame someone else while you have already the suspects, you have already the accused persons, they are already in court,” he emphasised.
IPOA on DIG Lagat
Kiplagat said the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), the only legally mandated body to probe police misconduct, had investigated the matter and cleared DIG Lagat of any wrongdoing.
“The IPOA has given him a clean bill of health. The officers believed to have been involved in Ojwang’s death are already in court. That should be enough,” he stated. “Let us appreciate the justice system and allow it to work without emotions clouding our judgment.”
He also questioned the logic behind the claims against Lagat, noting that it would have made no sense for someone in his position to file a formal complaint if his intention was to harm Ojwang.
“But if you’re my police boss and I know you have all this, you filed a complaint, we are the junior officers as well, how then do we know that they were not operating under duress? Let us get facts right. If you are the police boss, why would you take the pain to file a formal complaint, to leave all the footprints, and you come and execute the suspect? Unless you are so dumb, can you do that,” said Kiplagat.