By the time Albert Ojwang’ was arrested, the trail had already been laid out. The details of a social media account he was linked to had been handed to police by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).
This was revealed on Tuesday by Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, who spoke before a Senate committee probing the blogger’s mysterious death in police custody.
“The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) requested the registration details of the X handle ‘Pixelpioneer’ on June 4,” said IG Kanja. “The CA responded the same day.”
That account had made a string of posts alleging corruption at the top ranks of the National Police Service. One particular post claimed that Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat had “strategically placed his most trusted officers in charge of DCI desks and traffic shifts in order to control both revenue streams and intelligence flow.”
Another post showed a photo of DIG Lagat with Nairobi Area senior officer Joseph Chirchir, alleging Lagat was under investigation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) over a multi-million-dollar property in Dubai. The caption read: “Eliud Lagat, Mafia police.”
Kanja told Senators that the police first wrote to the EACC to confirm whether DIG Lagat was actually under investigation. At the same time, they turned to the Communications Authority.
“The CA provided registration details and preserved the posts associated with the handle,” Kanja said.
At the time of the request, Pixelpioneer had 13,400 followers, he added.
But that was not the only account under scrutiny. Investigators also targeted an account named Kelvinmwicheles, which led them to a man named Kelvin Moinde. He was arrested in Migori County and later taken to DCI headquarters in Nairobi.
In his statement, Moinde reportedly named four other individuals: Albert Ojwang’, Dorcas Mawia, Douglas Marigiri and Peter Mbugua. He also gave police their X usernames.
By June 7, the hunt had reached Homa Bay. Ojwang’ was arrested and taken to Central Police Station in Nairobi, arriving shortly after 9pm.
Three days later, he was dead.
His death has sent shockwaves across the country. Rights groups, journalists, and politicians have all demanded answers. President William Ruto has called for a swift and credible investigation. The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) said that CCTV footage at Central Police Station appeared to have been tampered with.
In the Senate, IG Kanja’s remarks painted a clearer picture of how closely law enforcement was monitoring dissent on social media.
The Communications Authority has not issued a public statement on the matter, but under current law, it is allowed to cooperate with police during investigations involving potential cybercrimes or threats to public officers.
Still, questions remain. Was Albert Ojwang’ tortured in custody? Did the police follow due process in his arrest and detention?
So far, no officer has been suspended or arrested in connection to his death.
And as the Senate probe continues, the family of Albert Ojwang’ is still waiting for justice — and the truth.
