Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen Wednesday cautioned politicians against inciting locals to violence, saying they will face the full force of the law.
He noted that Nyandarua is one of the counties that is enjoying relative peace despite witnessing isolated cases of violent protests recently.
“We have challenges of late when it comes to public protests, political organisers have been using and misusing young people to organise violent demonstrations,” the CS noted.
He put on notice the planners, organisers and executors of the violent protests that they will not be spared regardless of their stature in society.
Murkomen stressed that action will be taken against those who burnt police stations, vehicles and property.
“Going forward, anyone organising demonstrations must work closely with the police officers and remain peaceful as enshrined in the constitution,” Murkomen urged.
“I have said before, we will remain firm and work decisively and will charge everyone. I saw some people complaining somewhere yesterday that we are charging people with charges of terrorism. If you burn a police station, vehicles and somebody’s supermarket, the only charges that will be brought before the court are those related to terror.”
Murkomen said the law enforcement agencies have taken the necessary measures against individuals involved.
He noted that it was regrettable that those who incite and mislead the youth are exported from other regions.
The CS also weighed in on the political public engagements, saying they must be organised and done by the law.
The CS assured politicians that the police are ready and willing to provide adequate security to those planning peaceful demonstrations after proper notification and approval.
“Those who want to hold any Barazas, rallies, we will provide security. They must provide notifications. We have no problem with any party, politicians, so long as their rally is peaceful and does not disrupt the peace of others, “ advised the interior CS.
He, however, warned that burning of property, looting, or violence will not be tolerated.
“We are committed to peace and the police are always on standby to provide security for demonstrators to exercise their constitutional freedoms within the constitution in a peaceful manner,” assured the CS.
Murkomen, through a multi-agency team approach, the security officers have arrested and arraigned some people, and the operation is ongoing to net more suspects.
Addressing journalists at Nyandarua County Commissioner’s office at the start of the grassroots security engagement, the CS vowed to ensure the culprits are dealt with as per the law and to have the crime stamped out in the county.
He noted that the crime has mutated from stealing livestock to slaughtering the animals in the pens and carrying the steak in the dead of the night.
“Cases of livestock theft have significantly reduced, owing to the efforts of administrative units working hand in hand with Wananchi, who have taken seriously the advice by the security officers,” stated the CS.
He spoke as he acknowledged that local farmers have suffered significant losses, which culminated in the burning of Ndunyu Njeru police station in Kinangop constituency, where three suspects accused of livestock theft died.
He, however, urged locals not to take the law into their hands and resort to mob justice to register their frustrations.
“I was told graphically that since Nyandarua is very cold, when people go to sleep, they go to sleep and thieves know,” said the CS, noting that the thieves don’t come from far and they usually scan the homestead before stealing livestock.
“There is a new phenomenon where they don’t drive away the livestock, they slaughter and take the meat to sell in some of the butcheries where there is collusion. The citizens here took it seriously, and they have been cooperating with security officers. On the issue of the burnt police station, the irate mob, the members of the public, as a result of the suspects we were holding, attacked.”
“The contributing factor is that the suspects were told to be cattle thieves, and citizens had lost faith in the justice system. No one should take the law into their own hands; they should be taken through a court process, and in the process of interrogation, it helps appreciate the depth and network that perpetrators’ mob justice,” he stressed.
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