Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has appealed to Kenyans planning to participate in next week’s June 25 memorial demonstrations to exercise their constitutional rights peacefully, warning that security agencies will act firmly against any criminal elements who attempt to cause chaos.
Speaking during a Sunday church service at AIC Lang’ata in Nairobi, Murkomen acknowledged that Article 37 of the Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to assemble, picket, demonstrate, and present petitions — and stressed that no government official can strip Kenyans of that right.
“Our Constitution allows every citizen to protest, to picket, to demonstrate and to present petitions under Article 37 of the Constitution. That is a right and no government official, neither myself nor any other government officer, can take that right away from the people of Kenya,” he said.
However, the CS drew a firm line between lawful protest and conduct that infringes on the rights of others, warning that demonstrations must not disrupt children’s access to education, harm traders, or endanger lives and property.
“When you are exercising your right to demonstrate, it is not to say that your right is greater than the right of our children to go to school or the right of business people, including mama mbogas, to continue doing their business,” he added.
Murkomen went further to assure peaceful demonstrators of police protection, outlining a clear distinction between lawful protest and criminal behaviour.
“If we all come peacefully to protest — no rungus, no machetes, no stones, no lighting fires, no violence, no stealing, no looting — the police will also escort and support those demonstrators, and in the evening, we shake hands and go home,” he said.
He issued a stern warning, however, that security agencies would decisively confront those bent on turning the marches violent.
The CS also took direct aim at political leaders who have publicly called for schools and businesses to shut down during the protests, describing such statements as deeply irresponsible. He argued that children listening to such leaders carry those messages back to classrooms, normalising defiance and undermining institutional values.
“Sometimes we are not even the ones going to the streets. We are using the children of other people for political gain at the expense of their personal lives,” he said.
The June 25 memorial march has been organised by families and friends of victims killed during the 2024 Gen Z-led anti-government protests, which culminated in demonstrators breaching Parliament grounds in opposition to the Finance Bill, 2024. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights placed the death toll from those protests at 60.
The planned march has drawn support from civil society, opposition figures, and prominent Kenyans including former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, Martha Karua, Siaya Governor James Orengo, and Senior Counsel Gitobu Imanyara. Organisers intend to march to Parliament Buildings, lay flowers at locations where protesters were shot, and present a memorandum demanding justice and an end to police brutality.
President William Ruto had earlier warned that participants would not be permitted to destroy property or disrupt the economy, while Murkomen’s appeal on Sunday struck a notably reconciliatory tone — urging both sides to prioritise peace.
“Please, let nobody lose life on Thursday,” Murkomen said.
