Gachagua to police: Do not take Murkomen’s directive seriously
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has cautioned police officers against heeding Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen’s shoot-to-kill directive, warning that obeying unlawful orders will leave them exposed to prosecution.
Speaking during an interview on a local media station on June 27, 2025, Gachagua urged officers to strictly operate within the confines of the law, stating that those who use excessive force will be abandoned by the very leaders who instruct them.
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“I want to tell the police officers—they have seen what has happened. The officers who tortured and killed Albert Ojwang are in custody and facing murder charges alone. The people who gave them instructions are at home, doing their own things,” Gachagua said.
His warning was a response to Murkomen’s controversial directive on June 26, 2025, in which the CS instructed police to shoot anyone attempting to invade a police station during protests.
“The problem that sometimes makes the police shoot criminals is that they get arrested, are released, then come back to mock the police, asking, ‘So, where did you take us? Nowhere.’ And we’ve told the police — Anyone who comes near a police station, shoot them,” Murkomen stated while visiting police stations affected by the June 25, 2025, Gen Z memorial demonstrations.
Gachagua, however, dismissed this directive as reckless and dangerous.
“Please follow the law,” he urged officers. “Don’t take that instruction from Kipchumba Murkomen seriously. Because if you shoot somebody, you’ll be arrested and taken to court.”
He further accused top government officials of exploiting state agents for political ends.
“I worked with William Ruto and those close to him. They are users. They will use you, and when things go wrong, they will sacrifice you at high noon,” Gachagua stated.
Drawing from his background as a former police officer, Gachagua reminded the officers to follow the legal framework guiding their actions.
“The Constitution of Kenya 2010, the Penal Code Cap 63, the Criminal Procedure Code Cap 75, and the Evidence Act Cap 80. Those four documents should guide any police officer in this country, and anytime they are told to do something by their superiors, they should refer to those documents,” he explained.
Gachagua advised officers to ask for written instructions if ordered to take actions that violate these laws and to respectfully decline any directives that contravene their legal mandates.
“If their seniors insist, they should ask for something in writing. They should ignore what Kipchumba has said,” he counselled.
