The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) is once again under fire, this time for allegedly shielding Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat following the suspicious death of blogger Albert Ojwang.
According to a report by NTV, IPOA conducted an interview with Lagat “under the cover of darkness,” without cameras or media presence. No journalist saw Lagat enter or leave the IPOA premises, raising serious concerns about transparency and accountability.
This has angered the public and led to fresh accusations that IPOA is not interested in delivering justice but is instead protecting senior police officers from scrutiny.
Ojwang died in police custody on June 8, 2025, just two days after being arrested for allegedly defaming Lagat online. Police initially claimed Ojwang died from self-inflicted injuries, but a postmortem revealed clear signs of assault and possible torture.
Despite this, the only major update from IPOA was that Lagat had been summoned. The secretive interview now being reported paints a disturbing picture and adds weight to growing fears that IPOA is part of a cover-up.
It is now difficult to believe IPOA is acting independently. The authority’s job is to ensure police accountability, especially in cases of deaths in custody.
However, by hiding such a high-profile interview from the public and the press, IPOA has only made things worse. The move has added to public frustration, with Kenyans expressing anger and disbelief online.
In fact, replies to NTV’s post show people openly accusing IPOA of working hand in hand with the police to block justice. Some called for the agency to be disbanded, while others questioned whether IPOA even understands its role.
These are not random complaints, they represent a growing loss of confidence in an institution that was supposed to protect citizens from police abuse.
Even IPOA’s former chairperson has questioned the authority’s independence. According to KTN News, Macharia Njeru expressed worry that IPOA is no longer doing what it was created to do. This public criticism from a founding leader should be a serious wake-up call, but IPOA seems to be pretending everything is fine.
Meanwhile, Lagat, the man at the center of this scandal, has only stepped aside temporarily and may return once the noise dies down.
IPOA must be reminded that justice cannot be achieved in darkness. A police watchdog cannot function by hiding information from the public. In this case, where a man died in custody after being beaten, the least IPOA could do is allow the process to be open and verifiable. Instead, it chose secrecy, which raises suspicion that there is something to hide.
