The Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja has for the first time disclosed the specific online activity that allegedly led to the arrest and eventual death of digital influencer Albert Ojwang, whose sudden demise in police custody has sparked a national outcry.
Appearing before the Senate on Wednesday, June 11, Kanja confirmed that Ojwang ran an X (formerly Twitter) account under the alias “Pixel Pioneer”, which had amassed over 13,000 followers and regularly published whistleblower-style posts targeting the police.
According to Kanja, one of the most damaging posts accused Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat of corruption, claiming he strategically deployed trusted allies to oversee desks at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Occurrence Book (OB) entries, and traffic shifts—allegedly to control internal intel and revenue streams.
Another post shared a photoshopped image of Lagat alongside Nairobi senior cop Joseph Chirchir, with the caption:
“EACC is investigating top cop after purchase of a $2.6 million home in Dubai”
The image labeled Lagat as: “Mafia Police.”
How It Unfolded
IG Kanja told senators that DIG Lagat filed a formal complaint, citing defamation and reputational harm. The matter was escalated to DCI boss Mohammed Amin, who tasked the Cybercrime Unit with investigating potential violations under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act (2018).
To verify the corruption allegations, DCI officers reached out to:
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Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to confirm if Lagat was under investigation
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Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) to identify the persons behind the X accounts and preserve the content
CA responded on June 4, confirming the activity of the account. A day later, the EACC stated that DIG Lagat was not under investigation, debunking the core claims in the viral posts.
Further cyber-sleuthing led authorities to a second X account under the handle “Kevin Moishyleez.” Investigators linked the two accounts to Albert Ojwang and Kevin Moinde. Moinde was arrested in Kisii on Thursday, June 5, and Ojwang was detained in Nairobi on Saturday, June 7.
Ojwang died in police custody just hours later, with an autopsy confirming blunt force trauma, neck compression, and soft tissue injuries inconsistent with suicide—contradicting initial police reports.
Senate Demands Accountability
The explosive revelations came as part of a Senate hearing where Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, IG Kanja, DCI director Amin, and IPOA Deputy Chair Ann Wanjiku were grilled on the circumstances surrounding Ojwang’s death.
Human rights activists and lawmakers alike have called for an independent inquiry, with growing concerns that cybercrime laws are being weaponized to silence dissent.
“This wasn’t just a defamation case. A life was lost,” one senator stated during the session.
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