'Wearing uniform doesn’t justify misconduct or killings', Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen warns police
CS Kipchumba Murkomen stressed that police officers in undercover or emergency operations are still expected to operate within legal boundaries and that misconduct will be fully investigated.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has defended the rule of law in the wake of recent violent unrest across the country, stating that no police officer is exempt from legal accountability, regardless of whether they are in uniform or plain clothes.
Speaking during a press briefing, CS Murkomen clarified that a police uniform is purely for identification and not a justification for misconduct.
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“The law does not give any police officer the right to kill citizens, whether they are in uniform or plain clothes,” said Murkomen.
He stressed that police officers in undercover or emergency operations are still expected to operate within legal boundaries and that misconduct will be fully investigated.
“There are no rules that excuse a police officer from committing crimes or killing people simply because they are not in uniform. The same law that governs officers in uniform applies equally to those in plain clothes," he said.“There is no excuse. The dress code of a police officer is not a licence to break the law.”
Murkomen also refuted the existence of any rogue death squads within the police service.
“There is no known police squad that is involved in killing people, at least not in this administration and not that the Cabinet Secretary is aware of,” he said. “It would be unconstitutional and illegal to establish a squad anywhere in Kenya to kill people.”
He also condemned the wave of violence and destruction that occurred across the country on June 25 and July 7, 2025, stating that the events amounted to premeditated criminal acts rather than legitimate protest.
“On these two days, marauding gangs of looters and barefaced anarchists broke into private businesses in multiple parts of the country, thrusting many individuals and families into poverty,” he said. “Years of hard work and sacrifice were lost in an instant.”
He confirmed that nine suspects had been arrested in connection with the Dagoretti incident and that other suspects were being pursued. He further detailed destruction at the Dagoretti Police Post yard, where several government and private vehicles, including a school bus and a 14-seater matatu, were destroyed. Five guns were stolen during the attack, one of which was later used in a robbery in Naivasha.
Murkomen said similar attacks had occurred in Matuu, Olkalou, Machakos, and Nakuru counties. He disclosed that 18 suspects had been charged for the Matuu Police Station attack, 66 suspects arrested over the torching of a gas tanker in Machakos, and that arsonists had stormed Olkalou Police Station, killing three suspects in custody and destroying over 40 vehicles and property.
Murkomen gave a detailed account of the destruction, highlighting incidents in Dagoretti, Kikuyu, Matuu, Olkalou, Nakuru, and other areas where police installations were razed, firearms stolen, and suspects in custody killed. In total, 16 police stations and posts were either burnt or destroyed, leaving large populations vulnerable.
“When a police post or station is raided or razed, it leaves the public at the mercy of dangerous criminals,” he warned.
So far, close to 1,500 people have been arrested and charged with various offences, including terrorism, murder, robbery with violence, sexual assault, arson, and attacks on strategic infrastructure. 50 individuals are under investigation by the Serious Crimes Unit, while 71 are being handled by the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit.
He further announced plans to issue a policy directive to the Inspector General of Police on the proper use of force and firearms, in line with Article 245(4) of the Constitution.
"I will this Friday, pursuant to Article 245 (4) of the Constitution, be issuing a policy directive to the Inspector General of Police on the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officers."
“What was witnessed on June 25 and July 7 was not a protest. It was pure, premeditated criminality: deliberate, dangerous, and deeply disturbing. The right to assemble, demonstrate, picket, and petition is guaranteed by our Constitution, and that cannot be taken away. But this violence was a direct assault on our nation’s security and democracy.”
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