DIG Eliud Lagat could join growing list of top cops facing charges over extrajudicial killings

Embattled Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat may soon join the growing list of police officers prosecuted over alleged misconduct after he was summoned by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to record his statement on the death of blogger Albert Ojwang.

If IPOA establishes criminal culpability, Lagat could face trial.

His potential prosecution comes amid heightened scrutiny of police officers implicated in extrajudicial killings and abuses of power.

Among the most notable cases is that of former police officer Fredrick Ole Leliman, who was sentenced to death for masterminding the 2016 abduction and brutal murder of lawyer Willie Kimani, his client Josephat Mwenda, and their driver Joseph Muiruri. His co-accused -Stephen Cheburet Morogo and Sylvia Wanjohi, were sentenced to 30 and 24 years, respectively.

A police informant who allegedly facilitated the killings received a 20-year sentence.

Another high-profile case involved former police officer Titus Ngamau, alias Katitu, who was convicted for the 2013 fatal shooting of a man in Githurai. Forensic evidence showed the victim, Kimani, a member of Mathare Football Club, was killed by a bullet from Katitu's gun.

Despite claiming he acted in self-defence during an attempted phone theft, the court ruled the shooting unjustified. Katitu served approximately six years at Kamiti Maximum Prison.

His case drew attention to systemic problems within the police force, including the "blue code of silence" - an unwritten rule discouraging officers from testifying against colleagues.

During the hearing, IPOA revealed in court that the firearms register had been manipulated in an apparent cover-up attempt.

In another instance, Constable Edward Kirui was charged with murder in 2008 after he was captured on video fatally shooting two protestors - George William Onyango and Ishmael Chacha - during post-election violence in Kisumu.

The killings were part of nearly 100 deaths linked to police during unrest following the contested 2007 presidential election.

Currently, the trial of four police officers accused of murdering Baby Samantha Pendo during the 2017 post-election chaos in Kisumu is ongoing.

Officers John Chengo Masha, Linah Kosgey, Cyprine Robi Wankio, and James Rono face 11 counts of assault and alternative charges for failing to prevent widespread violence and sexual abuse by officers under their command between August 11 and 12, 2017.

They also face 38 counts of torture as crimes against humanity and are accused of failing to report or prevent the acts committed under their direct command. The case is scheduled for mention on July 2, 2025.

Another high-profile trial is of Police Constable Dancun Ndiema, who is accused of fatally shooting 13-year-old Yassin Moyo in March 2020 while enforcing a dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The trial began more than four years after the incident, which occurred on March 30, 2020, as Yassin stood on the balcony of his family's home in Mathare.

The first prosecution witness, Ake Hassan, testified that she was present on the balcony with Yassin, his mother Hadija Hussein, and her children when the shooting happened. Hassan, a neighbour of the Moyo family, lives in the same building in Kiamaiko, Huruma, located in Kiamaiko Ward, Mathare Constituency.