Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen on Thursday told police officers to use guns to defend their lives and protect police stations from attacks by the public, saying it is an order from above.
He said that the guns are not decorations, while urging officers to use them to defend the country.
“You should only run when you see that with whatever you have, even if you were to kill five or six, there are still many left (protestors),” said Murkomen.
He also thanked the police for a job well done during the June 25 demonstrations, terming the march as acts of terrorism, adding that he would defend them at all costs.
“Our security agencies exercised remarkable restraint amid extreme provocation,” Murkomen said.
Murkomen said that there were no police excesses during the demonstrations, while at the same time acknowledging that more than 10 deaths were recorded all over the country.
“What unfolded yesterday was not a protest. It was terrorism disguised as dissent. There was no peaceful demonstration; it was riots, chaos and anarchy,” said Murkomen.
He condoled with all families that lost their loved ones, saying that even though some of them were killed while looting, the pain of losing them stings.
He condemned what he called criminal anarchists who he said unleashed a wave of violence, looting, sexual assault and destruction of property.
He said that police were probing the reported deaths.
According to Murkomen, over 400 injuries were recorded countrywide and out of these, police officers sustained 300.
He was flanked by his Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo and top police bosses, Inspector General Douglas Kanja, his deputy Gilbert Masengeli and the Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin, among others.
Murkomen said nine police stations were attacked, where five were torched, while 88 police vehicles were destroyed.
“A total of 27 National and County Government vehicles were destroyed and 65 civilian vehicles parked in various police stations, including a school bus, were also burnt.”
The CS sensationally claimed that the protesters were aiming at officers on duty and wanted access to gun armouries and police uniforms.
He estimated that businesses lost billions through looting and destruction where kiosk, shops, restaurants and supermarkets were targeted.
“Critical infrastructure such as roads, railway, electricity and water were vandalized.”
The CS voiced concern over what he termed as the targeting of the homes and businesses of elected leaders who support the Kenya Kwanza regime.
Murkomen said Majority Leader and Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wa, Eric Wamumbi (Mathira), Kimani Kuria (Molo), Njoroge Wainaina (Kieni), Bernard Muriuki (Mbeere South) and Mwangi Kiunjuri (Laikipia East) were targeted.
“This was not just violence. It was an orchestrated campaign of terror, an assault on our people, our Constitution, our institutions, our values, and the very soul of this Republic.”
He said that the protests had been marked as peaceful but were ‘a coordinated descent into chaos’ terming the demos a campaign of political violence.
“What happened was not spontaneous. It was not random, it was deliberate, coordinated, funded, premeditated and politically instigated,” he said.
He added: “The mobilized protestors along Kiambu and Thika roads were chanting “it is time to take over power” and “occupy State House”.
The CS said those behind the demos were impatient to wait until the 2027 elections to remove the Kenya Kwanza administration from power and believed they could take action to oust the government.
Murkomen also claimed that the looting of businesses by goons was meant to scare government supporters and that the people behind it went back to the safety of their homes and left Kenyans at the mercy of the goons.
“I have no doubt that we have enough evidence to make sure that these looters, including the financiers and vehicles that were bringing money to protesters in different corners of Nairobi.” He said
The former Senator assured officers that the government was behind them and would defend them if they were to be arraigned in court.
“All the police officers who did a good job yesterday, you have my support, all of it, even if you need a lawyer.”
He reiterated that no police officer committed any excesses insisting that they foiled a coup and deserve to be defended by the government.
“They [police] don’t carry guns as toys.”
