Activists seek court orders to bar DIG Lagat from accessing his office
Four human rights activists have filed a petition in the High Court, seeking orders to have the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Eliud Kipkoech Lagat, barred from accessing his office.
The petitioners, Julius Ogogoh, Khelef Khalifa, Francis Auma, and Peter Agoro, also want the court to issue an order restraining DIG Lagat’s involvement in the ongoing investigations pertaining to the murder of Albert Omondi Ojwang.
“That this honourable court do bar the said Deputy Inspector General of Police, Eliud Kipkoech Lagat, from accessing his office and being involved in investigations into the death of the said Albert Omondi Ojwang’,” part of the petition read.
In the application that is certified as urgent, the activists are also urging the court to ensure that the police boss is not in contact with any of the witnesses pending the arraignment and reading of formal charges against him.
According to the petition filed on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, the activists are seeking leave to launch private prosecution against DIG Lagat over the murder of teacher Albert Omondi, contrary to Section 203 as read with Section 204 of the Penal Code.
“That this honourable court be pleased to grant us leave to institute private prosecution against Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat for the offence of murder of one Albert Omondi,” part of the petition read.
The activists also accuse the investigative and prosecutorial agencies of what they describe as evidently dragging their feet in the matter.
Additionally, they state that the matter being complained of is so grave that it does not warrant internal police action but criminal prosecution.
According to a supporting affidavit by activist Julius Ogogoh, the deceased (Albert) was arrested by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) from his rural home in Homa Bay County, in the presence of his parents, while just about to have lunch on June 6, 2025, at around 1 pm.
He further states that it is reported the deceased was bundled into a Subaru vehicle, famously used by DCI officers, and was booked at Mawego Police Station, then immediately driven to Nairobi, where he was booked at Central Police Station.
Notably, he notes that another report indicated that during a routine cell inspection in the early hours of June 8, 2025, officers at the station noticed he was lying unconscious at the door and was immediately rushed to the hospital for treatment, where he was pronounced dead.
