Murkomen responds to uproar after saying police asking for fuel is not corruption
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, on Friday, September 19, 2025, defended police officers over recurring fuel shortages, urging critics to be reasonable and announcing plans to press the Treasury to raise monthly fuel allocations from 450 to 650 litres.
Speaking in Nyamira County during the Jukwaa la usalama, Murkomen said some people had misunderstood his remarks on police fuel support.
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“Niliona wengine hapa wanaandika eti Murkomen is encouraging corruption by saying support police officers muwaweke mafuta kwa gari zao. Kwani hiyo ni story? Ni kama hawa watu wanaandika magazeti, they have never interacted with police officers,” he said.
“Is it news that mafuta ya police …for the longest inaisha before the end of the month? I mean, it’s public knowledge. The allocation we give our police officers is 450 litres, halafu polisi akisema mafuta imeisha unaita yeye corrupt. Let’s be reasonable,” he added.
It is worth noting that 10,000 new police constables will be recruited this year, marking one of the largest exercises in recent times.
“What did you want the police officers to say? That niko na mafuta ingine?” Murkomen posed.
He explained that, unlike his predecessors, he has chosen to address the issue head-on.
“The only difference between me and others is that I have faced this problem head-on. I have permitted the police officers to raise these issues openly. We have agreed with Treasury that the allocation per month should move from 450 to 650 to start with,” he said.
Murkomen said the government will monitor the new allocation closely and assess if it adequately addresses operational needs. He stressed that the adjustment was only the first step toward fixing a problem that has long undermined police work across the country.
Background
Murkomen made the earlier remarks during the Jukwaa La Usalama forum in Homa Bay town on Tuesday. He explained that the government currently allocates 450 litres of fuel per police vehicle every month, an amount he says is far below operational requirements at many stations.
He noted that the allocation is often depleted before the end of the month, particularly in urban areas where officers are frequently engaged in crime prevention and patrol duties.
In some cases, members of the public have been asked to contribute fuel to facilitate police operations.
The practice has drawn criticism and allegations of corruption, which Murkomen dismissed as unfair. He maintained that the real problem lies in inadequate government allocation, not misconduct by police officers.
