The High Court has declined to issue interim orders in a case seeking to have Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen declared unfit to hold public office over controversial remarks he allegedly made regarding the use of lethal force during anti-government protests.
Justice Bahati Mwamuye on Wednesday directed that the matter be mentioned on October 27, 2025, for further directions.
The petition, filed by the Gema Watho Association, accuses Murkomen of violating the Constitution after allegedly issuing a “shoot-on-sight” directive in Kikuyu Town following the June 25 protests. The association claims the remarks encouraged police brutality and risked triggering a rise in extrajudicial killings.
“The utterance was made in Kikuyu Town, an urban and populous area, and was therefore understood by a wide cross-section of the public as setting a dangerous precedent for the treatment of civilians near police facilities,” the petition reads.
Citing Article 26 of the Constitution, the petitioners argue that the directive to “shoot anyone approaching a police station” without due process constitutes a direct violation of the right to life and falls short of the legal standards governing the use of force by security agencies.
The association is demanding a public retraction of the remarks and accountability from oversight bodies. Murkomen has appointed lawyer Cecil Miller as his legal representative, though no formal responses have been filed yet.
In addition to Murkomen, the petition lists multiple respondents and interested parties, including the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, the National Police Service, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR). The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and the Mount Kenya Jurists Party have also been named as interested parties.
The case adds to growing legal scrutiny over government responses to public dissent amid recent nationwide protests.
Written By Rodney Mbua
