Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has sent a strong warning to protesters who demonstrate while armed with any kind of weapons.

Speaking in Diani in Kwale County during the launch of the National Government Administrative Police Unit (NGAPU), Murkomen said that police officers will be defended for using force on such protesters.

“I wish to make it clear that we shall protect our police officers from criminals and thugs purporting to be exercising their democratic right through protest,” Murkomen said.

“Any Kenyan protesting in the streets of our towns and cities or in the villages, while armed with stones, clubs and pangas are putting our law enforcement officers and law-abiding citizens in danger.”

Confrontation with police

Murkomen urged the public to refrain from confronting police officers, noting that the government will spare no effort to protect and defend their officers.

“Appropriate force will be used to contain and then restore law and order. Physical attacks on our security personnel leading to injuries or even death erodes the trust and confidence that the citizenry have on our officers. We will therefore not spare any effort to protect the safety and authority of our police officers,” Murkomen added.

The Interior CS took issue with an incident at Duka Moja in Narok County where a police officer’s arm was chopped off by irate residents of the area who were protesting after a lorry ploughed through several sheep in the area.

The residents would pile up the carcasses of the sheep on the busy Narok-Kisii highway, effectively halting traffic and disrupting the movement of people and goods through the road.

Officers sent to restore normalcy on the road were met with armed protesters who engaged them in running battles, which tragically resulted in the chopping off of one police officer.

“The Officers tried to calm the situation but the crowd turned more violent, prompting the Officers to fire blanks and tear gas to disperse the crowd. In the process, nine Officers were seriously injured. Two of the seriously injured Officers including an Officer whose hand was chopped off by a Maasai sword, have been airlifted to Nairobi for further treatment,” NPS said in a subsequent statement.

Vows to defend officers

Murkomen urged the police officers to identify threats and act decisively, stating that the government would defend them in court.

“There is no way anybody would be protesting peacefully then cut the hand of an officer. That is not a protest; that someone was protesting then stoned a police officer to death,” Murkomen said.

“By the time we see you coming with a gun, machete, stone or any other weapons, we already know that you are not a protester; you are a criminal. The respective force will be used and we will defend our police officers as they use that force to deal with criminals. We will defend them on land, in the air, in the sea and in the courts.”