Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has attacked the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo, accusing her of siding with individuals he described as criminals.
Speaking on Wednesday, July 23, Murkomen criticized Odhiambo’s remarks concerning the ongoing arrests and prosecution of protestors.
The CS accused her of arrogating judicial authority and questioned her basis for claiming that the government’s evidence was insufficient.
“I saw the interview with the LSK president and I was surprised that she was arrogating herself the position of a judge,” Murkomen stated. “We have presented the evidence to court. How did she assess that it was not watertight or that the threshold was not met? That is for the courts to determine.”
Faith Odhiambo had earlier criticized the authorities for misapplying the Prevention of Terrorism Act, stating that protesters should not be charged with terrorism without irrefutable evidence of intent.
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“Protesters should not be charged with terrorism. The investigating agencies must show and prove that there was a clear intent to cause terrorism,” she had then stated.
Murkomen insisted that the government had credible evidence, including incidents of arson, looting, and violence that, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), meet the threshold for terrorism-related charges.
“The law is very clear. If you are committing acts meant to create fear, destroy property, burn shops or police stations using petrol bombs, those are acts of terrorism as defined by POTA,” he said.
The CS urged the LSK to focus on promoting the rule of law rather than appearing to defend individuals accused of criminal behavior.
“The LSK should be speaking up for the victims, too, the Kenyans whose businesses were looted and burned, the police stations that were attacked. Not just the suspects,” Murkomen said.
He further accused Odhiambo of undermining the work of security agencies and discouraging accountability by casting doubt on lawful arrests.
“If you truly care about peaceful protests, then support efforts to remove the criminals hijacking them. Instead, the LSK appears more interested in defending them,” he stated.
