Murkomen: In civilised society, anyone who invaded parliament would have been called a terrorist
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has recalled the June 25, 2024, incident where protests against Finance Bill 2024 led to a security breach and invasion of the Parliament buildings in Nairobi.
In his State of the Nation address on Monday, June 16, 2025, the CS argued that in any civilised society across the world, those who invaded parliament would have been branded terrorists.
Murkomen insisted that the act of invasion cannot be considered a protest.
“I am yet to see a media house that calls out all those who invaded parliament. In any civilised society in the world anyone who invaded parliament would have been called a terrorist, but here in Kenya, we are still saying peaceful protesters invaded parliament,” Murkomen stated.
To avoid a repeat of the June 25, 2024, incident, Murkomen indicated that his ministry was considering proposing changes to ensure protests are carried out within the confines of the law.
“How can invasion and peaceful survive in one sentence? You have seen protests in other parts of the world people marching peacefully and making their statement and that is why part of the law that we are proposing is to create an opportunity for public order to give people the space to do protests in an environment that is peaceful,” he insisted.
Reforms
During the same address, Murkomen announced sweeping reforms in the country’s security sector.
Among the measures announced is the mandatory installation of CCTV surveillance systems in all 1,209 police stations across the country. The Interior CS stated that each station must have a fully functional system, complete with external backup, within the next two years.
The Officer Commanding Station (OCS) will be the custodian of the footage, and any malfunction must be reported within one hour. He urged Parliament to pass legislation that criminalises tampering with CCTV equipment, citing the need to protect transparency and deter abuse.
Murkomen also announced the full digitisation of Occurrence Books (OBs) across all police stations within the next year. This initiative, aligned with the government’s digital transformation agenda, is expected to enhance the traceability of reported incidents and prevent tampering with official records.
As part of efforts to improve public relations and enhance community safety, every police station will now be required to adopt and implement community policing models. These models aim to bridge the gap between law enforcement and local residents by encouraging collaboration and trust-building.
