Murkomen asks MPs to strengthen law on enforced disappearances 

Interior and National Administration CS Kipchumba Murkomen Friday rallied Members of Parliament to strengthen the legal framework on enforced disappearances.

He said there were gaps in the law which make it easier for abuse, warning that self-initiated or fake abductions are trivialising the severity of abduction crimes and that it was critical that MPs find ways of making it harder to do it.

“We need a comprehensive legal framework that will punish those who exploit these situations for their own selfish interests, thereby misusing security resources that are essential for ensuring the safety of Kenyans,” he said.

The CS spoke in Naivasha during a National Assembly Awareness Workshop on Kenya’s Strategic Goods Control (SGC) Bill, 2025.

There have been cases of forced disappearances amid protests from various quarters.

The CS spoke on the back of the deepening saga involving the alleged abduction of Juja MP George Koimburi, which police believe was self-initiated.

Police have arrested four people including Member of Muranga County Assembly over the saga.

The CS’s sentiments come at a time there are concerns around forced disappearances and abductions.

This Bill is the culmination of years of robust engagements by various public agencies, partners and key stakeholders to better manage and regulate the trade of strategic goods in Kenya since 2015.

Then, the government resolved to taking proactive steps to manage Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) materials.

The proposed legislation is vital in the sector sector, taking in account the fact that criminal and terrorist elements have previously exploited these goods, leading to tragic consequences.

For instance, the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombing in Nairobi remains a painful reminder, as does the fertilizer-based bomb attack on Moi Avenue in 2012, which claimed 33 lives and injured many more.

“The Strategic Goods Control Bill, 2025, establishes a comprehensive system to regulate the trade of strategic goods, including dual-use items, munitions, and materials that could be used in the development of weapons of mass destruction,” the CS noted.