Dr. Raymond Omollo Speaks for a Wounded Nation

It’s not often that government officials speak in tones so nakedly human.

Yet Dr. Raymond Omollo, CBS – Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Internal Security – did just that when he wrote on X:

“For the people of Kenya and the State Department for Internal Security, there is only one position on the tragic death of Mr. Albert Ojwang’, a young, hopeful father, husband, teacher and son; it should never have happened.”

There was no bureaucratic buffering. No sidestepping. Just a solemn sentence – one that acknowledged not just a tragedy, but the pain it stirred across a nation.

Dr. Omollo is no stranger to the fine line between public safety and personal rights.

As PS overseeing Kenya’s delicate internal security apparatus, he carries the burden of steering reforms in a space where public trust often wears thin.

But what makes his statement significant is its unvarnished clarity – a tone that contrasts sharply with a past where such deaths were often explained away, softened, or outright denied.

His words are not just about Albert Ojwang’.

They are a reflection of the growing imperative within the State Department for Internal Security to respond to public emotion with institutional humility – and to ensure that systems built to protect do not become instruments of fear.

Under Dr. Omollo’s stewardship, the department has made notable policy strides: body-worn cameras for officers, improved oversight through IPOA, and the push for data-driven policing.

He’s advocated for inclusive security, political tolerance, and technology-backed transparency – ideas that are now being stress-tested in the most painful way possible.

Ojwang’s death, already acknowledged by the President as a case of police brutality, has reignited public anger and calls for real accountability.

But in that fire, Dr. Omollo has not flinched.

Instead, he has offered the one thing many Kenyans have long yearned for from within government: a recognition that this – all of this – should never have happened.

His statement is not the end of the road.

It is the opening note of a deeper reckoning. Because words, no matter how well-intentioned, must be followed by truth, transparency, and consequences.

In the days to come, IPOA will investigate. Officers will face suspension and inquiry. The public will wait, watch, and speak louder than ever.

And, Dr. Raymond Omollo – who has so far walked the tightrope between reformist and bureaucrat – will be expected to show that the state still has a soul.

Albert Ojwang’ is gone.

But, in his name, perhaps the system can be pushed, one more time, to mean something better.