Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has crossed a dangerous line with his reckless remarks about the June 25 youth protests. By calling the demonstrations a “coup attempt,” Murkomen is not just exaggerating he is launching a direct attack on the rights of ordinary Kenyans.
His words are not just careless, they are calculated to spread fear, silence critics, and justify the use of deadly force against unarmed citizens. This kind of language has no place in a democracy. It shows that Murkomen is more interested in protecting the regime than respecting the Constitution or the people’s voice.
What Murkomen said is not just wrong it is dangerous. Labeling peaceful protesters as “terrorists” and claiming there was an attempt to overthrow the government is pure fiction. The truth is that thousands of young Kenyans took to the streets to demand accountability, justice, and better governance.
Instead of listening, Murkomen is twisting the facts and pushing a false narrative meant to criminalize dissent and shift blame from the failures of the Ruto administration.
Even more disturbing is his claim that police showed “remarkable restraint.”
At least 16 Kenyans were shot dead, including young people who were not even part of any chaos. Nineteen-year-old David Mwangi was only trying to pick up his younger brother from school when he was killed.
Seventeen-year-old Dennis Njuguna was shot in Molo and lost his life for no good reason. How can Murkomen call that restraint? These are not isolated cases; they are proof of a pattern of violent suppression by the State and Murkomen is defending it.
Yes, there were cases of looting and property damage later that night. But those acts do not represent the majority of protesters who were peaceful, organized, and unarmed. Many carried tree branches as signs of peace.
They sang and chanted, expressing frustration with a system that has ignored their cries for too long. Yet Murkomen is using the actions of a few to condemn the entire movement.
This is the same old tactic used by authoritarian governments to silence dissent and scare citizens into submissionc.
What’s worse, Murkomen’s words hint at future arrests and prosecutions. By calling the protests a coup, he is setting the stage to charge protesters with treason or terrorism crimes that carry heavy punishments.
This is a deliberate effort to shut down political opposition and scare Kenyans from ever protesting again. It is a move to create fear, not safety.
Murkomen is not acting like a public servant. He is behaving like a political hitman, using his position to defend the regime and attack the people. His claims are baseless, his tone is divisive, and his intentions are clear to suppress voices of dissent and protect those in power at any cost. He should retract his statements, stop fueling division, and take responsibility for the deadly actions of police under his watch.
Kenyans deserve justice and accountability, not lies and intimidation from a man who is supposed to protect them.
