Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has attributed the looting and destruction of property across the country during yesterday's protests to hired criminals.
Addressing the press on Thursday afternoon, moments after assessing the situation in Nairobi CBD, Murkomen termed yesterday's incident as an attempted coup to subvert President William Ruto's administration.
According to Murkomen, yesterday's protest was terrorism disguised as dissent, and the financiers of the demonstrations had a premeditated plan to overthrow the current regime.
"There was no peaceful demonstration. It was riots, chaos and anarchy, and therefore we condemn the criminal anarchists in the name of peaceful demonstrations, who unleashed a wave of violence, looting, sexual assault and destruction upon our people," Murkomen said.
"That was not a protest; it was an unconstitutional attempt to change the regime of this republic, and yesterday the police tried to foil an attempted coup," he added.
In his speech, Murkomen revealed that the hired criminals were aiming at police officers and were also after guns in the armouries and police uniforms. He noted the criminals managed to steal firearms in two separate police stations in Kiambu County.
The Interior CS further disclosed that offices, including courts, national government and county offices were looted and burnt, with businesses worth billions of shillings massively looted.
"The criminals targeted kiosks, supermarkets, electronic shops, hotels and restaurants. Business and residential premises were burnt, including one owned by the Catholic Church in Embu County," he revealed.
Of great concern, according to Murkomen, was the attempted destruction of properties of elected leaders allied to the government, including the properties of Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung'wah and his Molo counterpart, Kimani Kuria.
The CS in his presser, expressed the firm belief that yesterday's protests were not spontaneous and random as alleged, adding that it was a well-coordinated, funded, premeditated and politically instigated uprising.
To prevent a recurrence of a similar incident, Murkomen noted that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) had begun carrying out investigations to apprehend the organisers and financiers of yesterday's protests.
"Rest assured that the Government will pursue justice relentlessly on behalf of all affected Kenyans. No person will be spared, regardless of their political or financial status," Murkomen reiterated.
