Governor of Kisumu County Anyang’ Nyong’o criticized the handling of a commercial dispute involving former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju, raising concerns about the use of police in what he says is a civil matter.
In a statement issued Sunday, Nyong’o questioned the circumstances under which police officers were deployed in the dispute surrounding Tuju’s loan obligations, warning that such actions risk undermining the rule of law and public confidence in state institutions.
The governor said Kenya had endured a long struggle to establish a democratic society anchored on civil liberties and the protection of citizens’ rights, cautioning that the misuse of state power could erode those gains.
He argued that debt recovery and commercial disagreements are governed by civil law and should be handled through established legal procedures rather than through security operations.
“The use of uniformed police officers whose primary duty is to maintain law and order to facilitate actions that seemingly bypass established legal processes is troubling,” Nyong’o said.
Nyong’o further criticized what he described as “nocturnal operations and coercive displays of state power” in matters that should ordinarily be resolved through civil courts.
The governor defended Tuju, noting that the former senior public servant had served the country at the highest levels of leadership and should not be subjected to humiliation or unnecessary public embarrassment over a commercial dispute.
“Whatever the merits of the dispute at hand, he is neither a fugitive nor a criminal deserving such treatment,” he said.
Nyong’o urged institutions entrusted with public authority to exercise restraint and adhere strictly to due process, stressing that the credibility of Kenya’s institutions depends on their ability to act lawfully and with decorum.
He warned that investor confidence, public trust and Kenya’s ambition of positioning itself among leading global economies could be undermined if arbitrariness appears to prevail.
Nyong’o concluded by emphasizing that all Kenyans deserve fair and just treatment under the law regardless of status or political affiliation.
He said the principle captured in the national anthem — “Haki iwe ngao na mlinzi” — must remain a guiding national value rather than merely words recited in ceremony.
Police were still camping at Tuju’s Dari Business Park on Sunday, a day after dramatic take over.
A section of political leaders have criticized the move.
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