Kenya’s Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has outlined sweeping measures to bolster public safety following nationwide protests in June and July that left 42 people dead, more than 600 injured, and widespread damage to property.
Speaking in the National Assembly on Wednesday in response to a question from Molo MP Kimani Kuria, Murkomen described the demonstrations of 25 June and 7 July as “well-orchestrated and coordinated by certain actors” seeking to incite unrest and undermine national stability.
Murkomen said the violence on 25 June claimed 42 lives, injured nearly 600 people – including 496 police officers – and saw the torching of 16 police stations, vandalism of supermarkets, and attacks on hospitals and government offices.
In Dagoretti, armed criminals looted guns and set fire to residential buildings for police officers and their families.
He accused organisers of mobilising protesters via social media without giving the legally required advance notice to police, in violation of the Public Order Act.
Although Article 37 of the Constitution guarantees peaceful assembly, Murkomen stressed that the right is “not absolute” and may be limited to protect public safety.
The minister said the government had ramped up mobile and foot patrols, expanded CCTV and drone surveillance, improved intelligence networks, and engaged community leaders through Nyumba Kumi structures to prevent future violence.
Public advisories, he added, were being issued ahead of planned protests to encourage lawful conduct.
Murkomen revealed that police are investigating financiers and organisers of the unrest, with financial records and registrations of companies, NGOs, and societies under forensic review.
About 1,500 people have been arrested on charges ranging from terrorism and unlawful assembly to arson and possession of ammunition. Fifteen individuals linked to planning and mobilisation have already been charged.
The Interior CS said multiple agencies, including the National Intelligence Service and the Financial Reporting Centre, were involved in the probe. He promised continued efforts to identify and prosecute those behind the violence.
Kuria, whose constituency saw the destruction of the Molo Ward Administrator’s office and Molo Railway Station, welcomed Murkomen’s report but urged swift prosecution to deter future unrest.
