Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has cleared the police of any role in the tear gas incident that disrupted Edwin Sifuna’s rally in Kakamega. He dismissed the accusations as a deliberate effort to tarnish the reputation of law enforcement and stir up public anger.
During a church service in Kipkelion the following day, Murkomen stated that the government refuses to tolerate political stunts aimed at damaging the image of the National Police Service.
“I want to request politicians, those who were in Kakamega yesterday, in Nyeri, and in Nairobi, to go to those rallies in peace. We will deploy police officers to ensure there is beefed-up security, but don’t give us this comedy that you are going to meetings with teargas. You throw it and then go to rallies with goons armed with knives and rungus. That we will deal with firmly,” Murkomen said.
Murkomen stood firm, denying that police played any role in the tear gas deployment at the Kakamega rally. He further shared that the Inspector General’s office has launched a search to identify and unmask the person responsible.
“I have no doubt in my mind that the inspector general has a responsibility to ensure that the person who was carrying tear gas yesterday and threw it in Kakamega so that police are blamed must be searched for and arrested for such acts of trying to seek sympathy and to incite the people of Kenya. That must be dealt with finality,” he stated.
The Cabinet Secretary also criticized opposition leaders, accusing them of fueling politically motivated insecurity. He claimed they are deliberately trying to cast doubt on the government’s capacity to keep the peace as political tensions rise.
“The only issue we face as a country is insecurity caused by politicians who have no vision. They deploy the youth to meetings and instigate war between brothers. Instead of calling for your rally and selling your agenda, you walk around with people who instigate violence,” he said.
In what appeared to be a direct jab at former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who recently voiced concerns over national security. Murkomen accused him of fueling unrest to gain political leverage.
“I saw a former leader in this country who served for a quarter term saying that insecurity in this country has worsened, yet he is obsessed with President Ruto and me. The truth is he is a chief negotiator of goons, and when his goons are beaten up, that’s when you see him lament,“ Murkomen claimed.
The Cabinet Secretary clarified that the Ministry of Interior remains fully dedicated to maintaining order. He issued a sharp warning to anyone attempting to ignite ethnic conflict or political violence.
“The Ministry of Interior is working actively to ensure that Kenyans are living in peace. We will not accept, by all means, people who will incite war between brothers and neighbors. Tribal clashes and incitement will not be condoned, and anybody who engages in that will face the full wrath of the law,” he warned.
Murkomen further defended the government’s security achievements, claiming the country has made massive strides in stabilizing volatile regions since the Kenya Kwanza administration took over.
“Since President William Ruto took the reins of this country, when Professor Kithure Kindiki was the interior cabinet secretary, we had a lot of issues in the country, including banditry, Al-Shabaab, and border conflicts. But since I took up the post, we have managed to arrest those issues, and Kenya is one of the safest places on this continent,” Murkomen said.