Nairobi — Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has launched a scathing attack on former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua over claims that his life is in danger, dismissing the allegations as attention-seeking tactics and condemning what he described as the ethnic profiling of senior security officers.
Speaking on Thursday after the largely peaceful June 25 Gen Z anniversary demonstrations, Murkomen accused Gachagua of repeatedly turning major national events into personal political grievances and using tribal narratives to advance his political agenda.
"Every public issue of great interest, he likes making it all about him. He is a clout chaser," Murkomen said.
The Interior CS was responding to claims made by Gachagua on Wednesday evening alleging that a special police unit code-named "Nairobi Sierra" had been deployed to target him and his allies.
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In a statement, Gachagua alleged that the squad, which he described as rogue officers, had previously attempted to attack a church gathering in Nyeri County and had now been redeployed to coordinate attacks in the Mt Kenya region.
He further claimed that senior government officials, including Murkomen and Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat, could be behind an alleged plot to assassinate him.
Murkomen rejected the allegations outright, describing them as a continuation of what he called Gachagua's long-standing pattern of making sensational claims without evidence.
"We are used to his normal song," Murkomen said.
"Even in the last administration he used to make similar allegations against senior government officials. Today he is very cosy with some of the same people he used to accuse."
In some of his strongest remarks yet against the former deputy president, Murkomen said Gachagua's persistent focus on ethnicity in national affairs had become damaging to public discourse and national unity.
"I find it very strange that a person who once held such a high public office continues with this tribal tirade," he said.
"This country is peaceful and united. He must respect public institutions. This ethnic profiling of public officers for personal gain must come to an end."
Without naming specific incidents, Murkomen accused Gachagua of attempting to link state officials to ethnic identities in a manner that undermines confidence in public institutions.
The Cabinet Secretary particularly defended Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat and other security officials against what he termed unfair ethnic and political attacks.
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"Our nation must judge every leader by what he or she can offer, not by virtue of linking every public officer to a particular community," he said.
Murkomen further argued that such conduct was among the reasons Gachagua lost political support while serving in government.
"He continues to dig the same hole that cost him public office and continues to embarrass himself," he said.
The remarks added a political dimension to what had otherwise been a government briefing focused on the June 25 commemorations and the state of security across the country.
Murkomen hailed Kenyans for conducting largely peaceful demonstrations, saying no widespread incidents of looting, vandalism or violent clashes had been reported.
The government also reported 355 arrests linked to various offences during the demonstrations, with Nairobi accounting for the highest number at 161.
Despite heightened security deployments and intelligence-led operations in Nairobi, authorities described the commemorations as largely peaceful and a demonstration that constitutional protests can be held without widespread disorder.
