Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen failed to appear in two scheduled TV appearances, raising questions about why he did not show up.
The CS had been scheduled to appear on the Monday Report show on Citizen TV at 9:00 pm on Monday, June 16, to answer questions on the status of the National Police Service (NPS).
However, he ended up missing with the show’s host, Trevor Ombija, at one time stating that the CS was held up in an official meeting.
Murkomen was then scheduled to appear on Fixing the Nation, a show on NTV, to have a conversation on the safety of Kenyans at 7:00 am on Tuesday, June 17.
However, the CS failed to turn up, with NTV releasing a statement revealing that his appearance had been postponed and that they would inform viewers on the rescheduled date.
“Rescheduled: Our conversation with CS Murkomen has been postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. We are actively working to confirm a new date,” NTV revealed.
His failure to appear on the two shows may seemingly indicate that the government is on the rocks over recent developments concerning the safety of Kenyans.
The latest development comes amidst heightened scrutiny of the Interior CS over his ministry’s handling of the country’s internal security. Murkomen’s woes deepened following the death of popular influencer Albert Ojwang, allegedly at the hands of police officers.
In a case that has gripped the entire nation, criticism has been levelled at Murkomen over the government's inaction towards the police, and specifically Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat, who is accused of orchestrating Ojwang’s killing.
However, while appearing before the Senate on Wednesday, June 11, Murkomen cited constitutional constraints as the cause for the initial lack of intervention by the State.
He quoted the provisions of Article 245(4) of the Constitution, which clarify the role of the CS and the Executive in general when dealing with matters related to the National Police Service (NPS).
According to Murkomen, the Constitution prevents him from giving direction to the Inspector General of Police regarding the investigation of any particular offence.
The guidelines also prohibit the CS from dictating the enforcement of the law against any specific person or persons. Further, Murkomen noted that the law bars him from influencing the employment, assignment, promotion, suspension, or dismissal of NPS officers.
As per the CS, the government’s role is limited to providing policy direction or supplying resources to institutions such as the NPS.
Even so, while addressing the nation yesterday, Murkomen outlined a raft of measures that police would be required to adhere to in the wake of Ojwang’s death.
Central to the reforms was a new policy that would see the recruitment of specialised officers who would bring modern ideas to promote professionalism within the service.
Besides reforms on the recruitment of officers, Murkomen also issued a directive requiring each police station to have functional CCTV surveillance systems, including live monitoring accessible by the Officer Commanding Station (OCS). The footage must be backed up securely to aid future investigations.
