Orwoba doubts Murkomen’s ability to lead after BBC exposé
By Nancy Marende, August 15, 2025Former UDA-nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba has stated that Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kipchumba Murkomen cannot hold office after he dismissed the BBC’s exposé on child sex trade in Mai Mahiu as a hoax.
Speaking on August 15, 2025, Orwoba accused Murkomen of contradicting the work of his own office, saying his predecessor, Interior CS Kithure Kindiki, had previously collaborated with her to address issues such as femicide and sexual harassment.
“Folks, I want to remind him, Waziri Murkomen, your predecessor, Kindiki, worked with me personally to deal with issues of femicide because he acknowledged that they exist, and to deal with issues of sexual harassment because he acknowledged that they exist. So he’s even contradicting his office. Because this office has a special programme to deal with these matters,” she said.
“So if you ask me, as they have said, I don’t believe, and this is one of the many other reasons with the noise I’ve been making, I don’t believe that… Let me say, with all due respect, Waziri Murkomen has the capacity to hold that office. He should have been left in spots,” she added.
Murkomen
Speaking when he appeared before the National Assembly on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, Murkomen stated that BBC journalists in the child sex trade documentary promised witnesses payments and lifestyle benefits.
He stated that the revelation was made following investigations by the anti-human trafficking and protection units.
“14 witnesses have been interviewed, and their statements recorded with relevant documents obtained. All locations featured in the BBC documentary have been identified, visited and documented by the crime scene investigation team,” he said.
“According to witnesses, BBC representatives promised substantial payments and lifestyle benefits to those who were involved,” he added.
Furthermore, he dismissed the documentary as a planned hoax aimed at misleading the public.
Murkomen claimed he had personally reviewed the names, pseudonyms, and backgrounds of the individuals featured in the exposé and found that none were minors.
“That report was fake because the people who were interviewed were not underage. I went the whole length to read their names, pseudonyms, and who they are and what they do. I also looked at the motivating factor for why they were posing as children,” he added.
The CS alleged that those featured were motivated to pose as minors, adding that there was a deliberate effort to stage the story.
While acknowledging that cases of child sexual exploitation may exist in the country, the CS insisted the BBC production failed the test of journalistic integrity.
“As far as the BBC documentary is concerned, it was a hoax. It was planned and executed to portray that they were underage girls going through sexual exploitation, while in reality, the people playing the game knew they were not,” he said.
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