NAIROBI, Kenya June 30\u2013 Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen is facing mounting political backlash over comments perceived to endorse the use of lethal force by police against protesters, following the deadly June 25 demonstrations that left at least 16 people dead.<\/p>\n
ODM leader Raila Odinga on Sunday publicly condemned Murkomen\u2019s statements, calling them \u201creckless and unconstitutional\u201d during a church service at ACK St Peter\u2019s Parish in Bondo, Siaya County.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have witnessed a lot of bloodshed recently. Children who went out to demonstrate, some of them died\u2014some of them shot by the police,\u201d Raila said. \u201cThe police should never, ever shoot to kill. Police have no licence to kill human beings. If somebody has committed a crime, arrest that person and take them before a court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raila criticised the CS for remarks made last week while touring looted businesses in downtown Nairobi, where Murkomen was captured on video saying: \u201cIf anyone gets close to a police station, shoot and kill them\u2026 That\u2019s an order from above, not just from me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The former Prime Minister said such a declaration undermines constitutional freedoms and sends a dangerous signal to law enforcement.<\/p>\n \u201cSo anybody giving instructions to a police officer that if anybody comes close to a police station, shoot them\u2014it\u2019s a shame. Shame on you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Murkomen has since denied issuing a shoot-to-kill directive, insisting his comments were a legal interpretation of police powers under the Constitution. Speaking during a high-level security meeting chaired by President William Ruto on Saturday, the CS claimed his words were taken out of context.<\/p>\n \u201cI cannot order the Inspector General to do anything\u2014the Constitution does not allow it,\u201d Murkomen said. \u201cYou will not find me anywhere saying somebody should be shot to be killed.\u201d<\/p>\n However, pressure continues to mount. Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, in an NTV interview, took a swipe at the CS, calling his remarks \u201cirresponsible and dangerous,\u201d and suggested Murkomen was unfit for the sensitive docket.<\/p>\n \u201cI heard Murkomen telling police officers to shoot and that he would protect them. That\u2019s a lie and they should not believe him,\u201d Gachagua said. \u201cHe is one of those young boys around Ruto with bloated egos, arrogance and impunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Gachagua also revealed that he had opposed Murkomen\u2019s appointment to the powerful Interior docket, advising President Ruto that it required a mature, level-headed individual.<\/p>\n \u201cI told the President that this position needs calm and maturity. Now look where we are,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The former DP further questioned how the government could claim the protests were an attempted coup if security officials allowed looters and violent gangs to take over parts of downtown Nairobi under police watch.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there was intelligence that goons were sent by me, why weren\u2019t they arrested? Why did the police stand by as downtown Nairobi was looted?\u201d Gachagua asked.<\/p>\n His remarks echoed those of human rights groups and legal bodies alarmed by the rising death toll from police shootings. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has reported that at least 19 people were killed during the June 25 protests, with 531 injured and 15 still missing.<\/p>\n The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has also weighed in. In a strongly worded statement, LSK President Faith Odhiambo said Murkomen\u2019s statements, whether direct or implied, violated the law.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Cabinet Secretary has no authority under the law to issue such an order,\u201d Odhiambo said. \u201cAny unjustified act of aggression or extrajudicial killing carried out under this directive will be deemed a premeditated crime.\u201d<\/p>\n She further cited Murkomen\u2019s own record in Parliament, where he had previously stated that his office was not involved in issuing operational orders to the police.<\/p>\n The LSK warned that the right to life, enshrined in Article 26 of the Constitution, cannot be undermined even in times of unrest.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, political leaders allied to the opposition are threatening to initiate impeachment proceedings against Murkomen in Parliament over his \u201cunconstitutional conduct and abuse of office.\u201d<\/p>\n Calls for justice are growing louder, especially from families of victims of police shootings. Among them is Boniface Mwangi Kariuki, a 22-year-old protester shot at close range during a demonstration. He has been declared brain dead, with his family pleading for support to offset a Sh3 million hospital bill.<\/p>\n Kariuki\u2019s case, along with the mysterious death of influencer Albert Ojwang in police custody, has become a rallying point for the Gen Z movement demanding accountability and reform within the police service.<\/p>\n As public anger continues to swell, President Ruto has directed security agencies to investigate the protest violence and bring to book both perpetrators and those accused of inciting unrest. However, critics argue that scapegoating opposition figures and endorsing forceful crackdowns only deepens the crisis.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NAIROBI, Kenya June 30\u2013 Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen is facing mounting political backlash over comments perceived to endorse the use of lethal force by police against protesters, following the deadly June 25 demonstrations that left at least 16 people dead. ODM leader Raila Odinga on Sunday publicly condemned Murkomen\u2019s statements, calling them \u201creckless and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117328"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117328\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}