Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga has broken his silence over the death of Albert Ojwang who died in police custody after being arrested over a social media post criticising Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat.
In a statement on Tuesday, June 10, Raila expressed sorrow over the news, adding that he was horrified by the reports surrounding Ojwang’s death.
“I have been deeply horrified by reports of a young Kenyan, Albert Ojwang, who was picked from Homa Bay and driven to his death in police cells in Nairobi, over an alleged offensive social media post about a senior police officer,” he said.
Raila called on authorities to explain who sanctioned the operation that saw Ojwang transported hundreds of kilometers from his home to Nairobi.
“So far, nobody knows who gave the orders for Mr. Ojwang to be arrested and ferried all the way to Nairobi and yet that person should be answering to Kenyans,” he noted.
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Raila compared the case to a disturbing trend of police brutality in the country, lamenting what he described as a growing list of victims who die at the hands of law enforcement officers.
“Mr. Ojwang now joins the horrifying long list of young and defenseless Kenyans whose lives have been taken too soon, in brutal and senseless circumstances, at the hands of the police," he stated.
According to Raila, such deaths not only devastate families but also undermine the moral authority of the police.
He further cautioned that Kenya was staring at the reality of failure as a nation if accountability is not urgently restored.
"While these deaths cause tremendous pain to individuals and their families, they seriously erode the authority and credibility of the police and the state, and that is a significant step towards chaos and collapse.
“When citizens can no longer tell the difference between the two forms of injustice — police injustice and mob injustice — we are staring at the reality of failure as a nation," he warned.
Calling for transparent investigations, Raila said justice must not be delayed for Ojwang or any other victims of police excesses.
“A speedy and credible closure to this latest incident of injustice in the hands of the police, alongside the many others that we have been pursuing since 2023, is not optional. The National Police Service must commit to and take concrete actions to hold their own accountable, beginning with this senseless death of Albert Ojwang," he concluded.
