The National Police Service (NPS) has flagged as fake a news quote purporting that its spokesperson, Muchiri Nyaga, dismissed claims that Deputy Inspector of Police Eliud Lagat had resumed duty.
The flagged media card, allegedly from a local news outlet, had claimed that the police spokesperson was not aware of Lagat's return to office. NPS had urged the news outlet to seek clarification from those reporting that he was resuming on Monday.
In an X post, stamping the news card as fake, NPS called out the comment saying, "Disclaimer...FAKE!!!" distancing the spokesperson from claims of being unaware of the DIG's return.
This came hours after the Daily Nation on July 14 ran a front-page story stating that DIG Lagat was off the hook and would resume his duties on Monday.
"Having vacated the office over 18 days ago to allow investigations by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), Mr Lagat is expected to resume duty today, the Nation can reveal," a section of the news article read.
The publication attributed this assertion to the Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, who said, "I hope to see him back at the office today because he has been cleared of all investigations."
It also clarified that Lagat had not confirmed the news as efforts to reach him had been unsuccessful. IPOA also reportedly refused to comment on the matter as it was still an ongoing investigation.
However, a source close to the investigation told the paper that the IPOA investigation had not found any evidence linking the DIG to the killing of teacher-cum-blogger Albert Ojwang, and he had been cleared of any suspicion.
Lagat, who was the complainant in the case that landed Ojwang in jail, had stepped aside to allow for a transparent probe into the matter following a public uproar and calls for his resignation.
Ojwang died while in police custody at Central Police Station in Nairobi, after being transferred from Homa Bay's Mawego Police Station, to answer to charges related to defaming the DIG on social media.
What followed was a nationwide outrage as Kenyans took to the streets to demonstrate said death after NPS contradicted the sequence of events. Many alleged that the DIG had ordered the execution.
So far, the Director of Public Prosecutions has approved murder charges on three police officers, including the station's OCS, Samson Talaam, and Police Constables James Mukhwana and Peter Kimani.
