Machakos Deputy Governor Francis Mwangangi has faulted the government’s decision to deploy the military on the streets, saying the move has dented Kenya’s image on the international stage.

Mwangangi while imploring on President William Ruto and Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale to reconsider the move and remove the military from the streets, said the deployment creates the impression that Kenya is unable to manage its internal affairs.

The Machakos deputy governor urged the President to borrow a leaf from the United States of America which did not deploy the military after some rioters stormed Capitol hill , the seat of Congress in 2021.

He says the deployment was done in haste, out of panic and not in the best  interest of the country and should be reviewed urgently as it  makes Kenya to look like a failed State in the eyes of the international community.

“In any democratic state like ours, each of the security agencies has its distinct role. It is only in failed states where the military end up doing what the police are supposed to do. Whoever advised the President into this move is up to some mischief,” Mwangangai, an expert in international relations said.

Internal strife

Kenya, he said is not going through internal strife to warrant the deployment of the military to undertake the duties of police.

Mwangangi said that apart from denting Kenya’s established international reputation as a fast growing democratic state, it would also discourage investors .

“It sends the wrong signals that the President has panicked and that his administration is unable to secure internal peace. All the world, nations are categorized into three ….developed, developing and underdeveloped. It is only in underdeveloped countries where  the military are used to internal  maintain peace and order,” he said.

President Ruto, Mwangangi observed, should not destroy the status attained by Kenya as a developing country during former  President Uhuru Kenyatta’s reign.

He said the efforts made by Uhuru to make a mark for  Kenya on the international stage have been taken a step further by President Ruto himself through his numerous  travels where he has grown into a stature of being a spokesman for the African continent.