The government, through Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, has explained why there has been inaction on its end in the aftermath of the murder of Albert Ojwang.
This is especially after a great clamour by the public directed towards Murkomen and the government to address the case of Ojwang. As Interior CS, such security matters normally fall under the purview of the Interior docket.
While appearing before the Senate on Wednesday, June 11, Murkomen cited the provisions of Article 245(4) of the Constitution that shed light on the role of the CS and the Executive in general in dealing with events related to the National Police Service (NPS).
According to Murkomen, the Constitution prevented him from giving direction to the Inspector General of Police with respect to the investigation of any particular offence.
The guidelines also prevented the CS from dictating the enforcement of the law against any particular person or persons. Further, Murkomen noted that the law also prohibited him from affecting the employment, assignment, promotion, suspension, and dismissal of NPS officers.
This was all to promote the independence of national institutions and prevent, in this case, the NPS, from interference by organs of government such as the Executive, under which the Interior Ministry falls.
"My position is confined in law to the place where either I give policy directions either in writing, or to assist in providing resources to institutions such as the NPS," he stated.
By law, Murkomen noted that the responsibility to conduct investigations into such matters fell to investigative agencies such as the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and not the Interior Ministry.
Ojwang was confirmed dead on Sunday, June 8, just hours after he was picked from his native home in Homa Bay County and locked up at the Central Police Station in Nairobi.
A statement by the police claimed that Ojwang's death was by suicide, stating he had hit himself on the wall several times..
However, when the autopsy report by pathologists finally came out, it was confirmed that the late Ojwang died from head injuries, neck compression and multiple soft tissue trauma. This ruled out self-inflicted wounds, as initially suggested by the National Police Service on Sunday, June 8.
The autopsy report came after Ojwang's family lawyer gave insights on the state of his body on Monday, revealing that the late had hints of defensive wounds on his hands and back.
