Karua's Reaction After Cabinet Commended Security Officers' Conduct During Demos

Narc Kenya Party leader Martha Karua has weighed in on the Cabinet’s move to commend police officers' conduct during the anti-government protests.

In a statement via X on Thursday, July 4, Karua said the move by the top decision marking organ was an insult to families who lost their kin during the demos and those who were injured.

“An insult to the families who lost loved ones and to the hundred injured,” said the Azimio co-principal.

The Cabinet on Thursday said that the security officers acted professionally in very difficult circumstances and protected the country from anarchists.

“The members commended security officers, pointing out that they on the whole acted professionally in very difficult circumstances. The Cabinet also noted that security agencies did a good job of protecting the country from anarchists,” a dispatch from State House read in part.

The Cabinet also said that any officer who may have acted outside the confines of the law be dealt with in accordance with legal procedure and by the institutions mandated to do so.

Further, it called for action against those who have committed heinous crimes of arson, looting, and robbery, among others, saying such atrocities must not go unpunished.

According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), 39 people have died and 361 injured since the protests began on Tuesday, June 18, 2024.

The dead are from Nairobi (17), Nakuru (3), Laikipia (1), Narok (1), Kajiado (3), Uasin Gishu (4), Kakamega (1), Kisumu (2), Kisii (1), Mombasa (3), Siaya (1), Kiambu (1) and Nandi (1).

KNCHR also noted that there have been (32 cases of enforced or involuntary disappearances and 627 instances of arrests of protestors.