NAIROBI, Kenya,Jul 24 – The escalating political feud between Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua took a new turn on Friday after the security minister accused the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader of attempting to revive the outlawed Mungiki sect and mobilise criminal gangs to intimidate government officials and electoral officers.
Speaking during a security assessment tour of Kerio Valley in Tiaty, Baringo County, Murkomen alleged that Gachagua was organising members of the banned sect to destabilise the country and warned that security agencies would not allow criminal groups to be used for political purposes.
“I know what you are doing, Gachagua. You are organising Mungiki against government officials and against electoral officials, but I want to tell you we will not allow you, we will deal with you,” Murkomen vowed.
The Interior CS said the government had resolved to dismantle organised criminal gangs regardless of their political affiliations, adding that authorities would begin with groups he claimed were linked to Gachagua.
“We will deal with goons, and we will start with your goons. From your doorstepwe will make sure that those goons are dealt with,” he warned.
Murkomen’s remarks mark the latest escalation in a bitter exchange between the two leaders following the violent Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, where Gachagua accused the government of deploying armed gangs and rogue security officers to intimidate voters and opposition supporters.
The Cabinet Secretary argued that political violence fuelled by criminal gangs was not a recent phenomenon but insisted President William Ruto’s administration was committed to eliminating such groups.
“Goons did not emerge in Ol Kalou or last year. They have been terrorising Kenyans for more than 10 years. This is the only government that has openly declared that it will fight and eliminate goons,” he said.
Murkomen further accused Gachagua of previously using criminal gangs while serving as Deputy President, alleging that he organised attacks against opposition supporters during the 2023 anti-government demonstrations.
He also claimed individuals linked to the former Deputy President were behind the invasion of former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Northlands Farm, where property was destroyed and livestock stolen.
“When he was Deputy President, he would wake up early to organise goons to attack Raila Odinga and the opposition during protests. The following year, he organised goons who invaded Uhuru’s farm and stole livestock,” Murkomen alleged.
The Interior CS dismissed Gachagua’s criticism of the government’s security operations, describing him as “a master of hypocrisy ” and ” a man of bad character who does not deserve to hold any public office.”
He warned that anyone seeking to use criminal gangs to advance political agendas would face the full force of the law.
Murkomen spoke in Tiaty after assessing the security situation in Kerio Valley and launching Kolowa Sub-County.
He was accompanied by Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya, East African Community, ASALs and Regional Development Cabinet Secretary Beatrice Askul, senior security officials and local leaders.
The accusations come just a week after Gachagua blamed Murkomen for violence that marred the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election.
Following the poll, Gachagua alleged that the
Interior CS authorised the deployment of armed gangs and plainclothes police officers to intimidate voters and disrupt the election, claims he made without publicly providing evidence.
He further accused Murkomen of overseeing what he described as state-sponsored violence and challenged his pledge to investigate the unrest, saying the Cabinet Secretary should instead investigate himself.
Murkomen has consistently rejected those allegations and has maintained that anyone responsible for violence during the by-election, including security officers found to have acted unlawfully, would be investigated and prosecuted.
Gachagua has repeatedly denied accusations of sponsoring criminal gangs or militia groups.
Instead, he has accused the government of
weaponising security agencies and using hired goons to suppress political opponents.
More recently, he has vowed to find lawful ways of protecting his supporters from what he describes as state-sponsored violence.
