Kenya’s Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has ignited public outrage by asserting that no Kenyan citizen has been killed by police since President William Ruto assumed office in September 2022.
Murkomen’s statement starkly contrasts with reports from human rights organizations documenting deaths and disappearances allegedly linked to police actions during this period.
“Since President Ruto took office, there is no single citizen who has been killed by police, nor has there been any policy of extrajudicial killings like we used to see with bodies in River Yala and River Tana. In the past two years, nobody has been killed,” Murkomen said.
This claim has drawn widespread condemnation, with critics labeling it as insensitive and factually inaccurate. Human rights groups, including the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), have documented over 60 civilian deaths during anti-finance bill protests earlier this year. Additionally, police have been accused of involvement in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, including the widely publicized case of Rex Maasai, who was fatally shot during protests in June.
An ongoing inquest into Maasai’s death has identified police officer Isaiah Murangiri Ndumba as a suspect. Despite such evidence, Murkomen’s remarks appear to dismiss the gravity of these incidents.
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Human rights watchdogs have continued to highlight what they describe as systemic abuses. In an October 28, 2024, statement, KHRC condemned the Ruto administration for “numerous grave human rights violations,” including excessive force by police, which has resulted in at least 63 civilian deaths, 65 enforced disappearances, and over 1,400 unlawful detentions since Ruto’s inauguration.
“Police continue to operate with impunity, using excessive force to suppress peaceful protests,” the KHRC statement added. The organization also reported a rise in abductions since October 2024, further fueling public distrust of law enforcement agencies.
Murkomen, while defending police independence, reiterated that the government does not interfere with police operations. “The Police Service, as outlined in the Constitution, must be allowed to operate independently, free from directives by the Cabinet Secretary, the President, or the Deputy President. We fully support their autonomy,” he said in a mix of English and Swahili.
However, these assurances ring hollow for many Kenyans grappling with unanswered questions about the government’s role in suppressing dissent. The events surrounding the June 25 Parliament invasion and subsequent anti-government protests remain a glaring contradiction to Murkomen’s claims, with investigations into these incidents still underway.
As pressure mounts on the Ruto administration, both locally and internationally, critics are demanding accountability and transparency. The Interior CS’s remarks, they argue, only deepen public mistrust in a government already under fire for its human rights record.
