Kenya’s Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat has temporarily stepped aside amid a murder investigation into the death of Albert Ojwang, a young teacher who died in police custody. While police initially claimed Ojwang inflicted his own injuries, a postmortem revealed he died from blunt force trauma to the head. Lagat’s move comes just ahead of protests demanding his resignation and may ease public anger. His temporary exit highlights growing concern over rising cases of abuse by security forces—at least 20 people have died in detention over the past four months. Activists have also accused Kenyan security forces of the abduction, torture, and extra-judicial killing of political activists or opponents. Meanwhile, the Kenyan Human Rights Commission estimates that more than 80 people remain missing since last year’s tax hike protests.
Bloomberg
