Meshack Ojwang, father of Albert Ojwang, speaks to journalists outside Nairobi Funeral Home on June 8, 2025.
When Meshack Ojwang left his home in Kakoth village, Homa Bay County, slightly over a week ago, he carried only a title deed and a lot of hope.
His son, 31-year-old teacher Albert Ojwang, had been picked up by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) at their home and he believed the title deed would be enough to post bail and bring his only child home.
But that was not to be.
Teacher Albert Ojwang who mysteriously died in a police cell.
He is now preparing for the journey no parent ever wishes to make, returning home with a death certificate and a lifeless name wrapped in the weight of grief and disbelief.
This was never the trip he was meant to make. He came as a father desperate but determined but now leaves the capital city broken.
“What did Albert post that was worth dying for?” He kept on asking during an interview with Nation on Saturday.
But even after several days, he is yet to see the message that was so grievous to cost his son his life. In the days that followed, his greatest fear, he says, is that senior officers who were adversely involved could interfere with the case.
“If the investigation is still ongoing, why should the complainant in the case that cost my son his life still be in office?” He asked.
Deputy Inspector-General Eliud Lagat was the complainant in the case that led to Ojwang’s arrest in Homa Bay over false publication.
Already, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) has taken up the issue and arrested at two police officers and a civilian for playing various roles in Ojwang’s murder. Members of Parliament have also pressed for answers and Kenyans have stood in solidarity, and even taken to the streets to demand justice.
“The arrested officers were simply executing orders. The investigations need to narrow down to those who issued the orders,” Mr Ojwang said.
Mr Ojwang says he appreciates President William Ruto’s assurance that all those found culpable will be held accountable. But he fears justice could be compromised.
“I’m asking as a parent of the deceased, that Mr Eliud Lagat who was the complainant also be summoned. Why is he still roaming free?” He wonders.
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Eliud Lagat.
As the world marked Father’s Day on Sunday, Mr Ojwang was preparing to bury the only child who made him a father three decades ago.
Albert, he says, was kind, a people’s person and a loving, thoughtful son.
“He was so caring,” the grieving father said.
Detectives claimed Albert committed the offence in Nairobi. But the father insists his son had not stepped into the capital for two months and was upcountry all that time.
“Yesterday my daughter-in-law told me that my grandchild asked whether the people gathered in their home were mourning their dad. She didn’t know what to answer. I can only imagine how troubled the child is,” he said.
Support from fellow Kenyans has helped him stay strong.
“I thank you, Kenyans, for standing with me. It feels like we’re just beginning this walk of finding justice and learning the truth about what happened to my son,” he says.
Albert’s widow, Nevnine Onyango, says she last saw her husband alive and the next time he was lying lifeless.
“I know that we can’t bring his life back. But seeing him get justice and seeing those culpable being charged for what they did will at some point give us peace of mind,” she says.
Mr Ojwang admits the days ahead will be hard, the kind of hard no parent ever dreams of.
“We are in total darkness. Our world has been plunged into total darkness. He was my only child, and the one on whom we’d pegged all our hopes,” he told Nation, his voice thick with sorrow.
