NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 25 – Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has defended the security advisory issued to the Linda Mwananchi leaders to call off a rally in Homa Bay town on August 16, saying political leaders have a responsibility to heed warnings issued by security agencies when conditions pose a threat to lives.
Speaking during a National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) event in Nairobi on Tuesday, Murkomen said the advisory was issued as darkness set in and security teams had assessed the situation as unsafe amid reported incidents of violence.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we advise the people who organize rallies that we have duty… we have rights to have rallies and political rights. But we have a responsibility to work with the security team to ensure that we protect our people,” Murkomen said.
Murkomen’s remarks come amid continued debate over the violence that erupted during the Linda Mwananchi political tour in Homa Bay, where a police officer was killed, several people were injured and property was damaged.
Murkomen said police had escorted Siaya Governor James Orengo and his team during the political tour, which had already held two rallies before the group proceeded towards Homa Bay Town.
He said county and regional security teams advised the organisers at about 6pm to call off the final rally because darkness was setting in and there were already incidents of violence.
“You can see the pictures were there, police were escorting Orengo and the team. They went to the rally, they did two rallies. When they were going to Homa Bay town, at about 6pm, the county security team and the regional security team advised them that it is good to call off the rally because it’s dark,” he said.
According to Murkomen, the Orengo-led team rejected the advice and insisted on proceeding to Homa Bay town.
“They said they must go to town. We must exercise our democracy,” he said.
The violence that followed left one police officer dead and several people injured, while vehicles and other property were damaged.
The incident has since drawn attention to the responsibility of political leaders and security agencies in preventing violence during public political gatherings.
Murkomen has in recent days also linked the Homa Bay violence to what he described as the mobilisation of political goons, while maintaining that security agencies had intelligence on possible threats ahead of the rally.
On August 22, he directed the National Police Service and Directorate of Criminal Investigations to take preventive action against suspected political goons before they reach political rallies.
“The DCI should not wait until goons are in a particular rally. They must be able to take preventive measures and arrest them,” Murkomen said while speaking in Oldonyiro, Isiolo County.
He further said security agencies’ early intervention had prevented potentially greater loss of life during the Homa Bay operation.
“If the NPS, IG and DCI had not arrested those criminals before the rally, we would be talking about something else. More lives could have been lost had they not taken preventive measures based on intelligence reports,” he said.
Murkomen had earlier accused Orengo and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino of mobilising youths from Nairobi to Homa Bay, alleging that some were intercepted by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations while travelling to the county, while others allegedly entered Homa Bay after travelling with Orengo.
At the NCIC event, Murkomen said his position on the Homa Bay rally was based on security assessments made by the national security architecture and not on his personal opinion.
“Then later when I told people that it—the best thing at that point in time was the politicians to call off the rally and come another day, what is happening now in the media spaces? ‘Oh, the minister is speaking irresponsibly.’”
He questioned whether political leaders could insist on proceeding with a rally after being warned about security risks.
“Do you want to tell me that political leaders have no duty, and they do not have duty at that point in time in darkness to tell their supporters there is another day we will come here? Do you want to say that it was—police had to be there by all means even in darkness without giving that warning that we want to have?”
Murkomen said political rights should be exercised alongside responsibility for the safety of supporters, organisers and security officers.
“And that’s why when I say these things I see people cracking jokes around it. This is not a joking matter,” he said.
He maintained that security agencies would at times have to advise citizens to leave public gatherings when assessed risks become too high.
“The national security architecture, the Cabinet Secretary telling you here, I’m not speaking about my own things. I’m speaking about assessed security information. That there will be times that the citizens will be told enough is enough, let’s go home.”
“It is not fair to lose lives in the circumstance and the environment that we are in, so that then we can safeguard the lives of the people of Kenya,” he said.
