Names of officers interdicted after Omondi’s death revealed after public pressure
There have also been calls for the disclosure of the identity of the officer who gave the order for his arrest
The National Police Service (NPS) has bowed to pressure and released the names of officers at the Central Police Station who have been interdicted.
The five include Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Samson Talaam, duty officer Samuel Nganga, duty NCO (Non Commissioned Officer) Charles Muruki, Cell Sentry Peter Kimani, and Evaline Kanyiri, a duty officer personell.
The release of names comes after intense calls by Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo, who yesterday asked Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja to disclose the identities of the officers even as the investigations by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) continue with the probe.
Odhiambo also called for the disclosure of those involved in transporting him from Homa Bay to Central Police Station in Nairobi, where he was later found dead.
“Why has Kanja not named the particular officers who have been interdicted? What is the need to hide? Let Kenyans know. We want to know who picked Ojwang. Are they part of those who were interdicted? And also, we want to know the names of those interdicted,” the LSK President stated.
And speaking today at the Nairobi Funeral Home where postmortem established that Omondi did not die after hitting his head against the wall as earlier alleged by police, Odhiambo said the disclosure should include the name of the commander who issued the order for his arrest and other who handled him until his death.
ODM leader Raila Odinga has also demanded for the same.
“So far, nobody knows who gave the orders for Mr. Ojwang to be arrested and ferried all the way to Nairobi and yet that person should be answering to Kenyans,” he said in a statement issued from Bangkok, Thailand.
There have also been increasing calls for the stepping aside of Deputy Inspector General (Kenya Police) Eliud Lagat, who lodged a complaint that Omondi and another blogger Kelvin Moinde were tarnishing his name on social media leading to their arrest.
On Monday, Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga declined to prefer charges against Moinde citing lack of sufficient evidence.
