Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has ordered investigations into allegations that hooded armed men disrupted the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, warning that anyone found responsible will face arrest regardless of who deployed them.
Speaking in Trans Nzoia County after addressing the County Assembly and presiding over the official opening of the Wellness and Committee Services Centre, Murkomen said the government would not tolerate election-related violence and promised that all perpetrators would be held accountable.
Murkomen orders thorough investigations
The Cabinet Secretary said claims that hooded armed individuals caused chaos during the by-election must be fully investigated.
“These allegations of hooded persons who are causing havoc in Ol Kalou must be investigated thoroughly, and anyone culpable must be arrested, regardless of what they were doing and who deployed them to Ol Kalou,” Murkomen said.
He added that investigations would also extend to members of the National Police Service if they were found to have acted unlawfully.
“Whether they were deployed by the Inspector General and they went and misbehaved, they must be dealt with and dealt with with finality,” he said.
Government vows action against election violence
Murkomen reiterated that the government remains committed to ensuring peaceful elections across the country and would not condone violence in any electoral process.
“We are not condoning violence in any way, whether it was Ol Kalou, whether it was Mbeere, whether it was Narok and whether it is in the next elections,” he said.
He assured Kenyans that anyone found responsible for election-related violence would be investigated and prosecuted.
“We want to assure the people of Kenya that we are not going to condone that kind of thing. Any such actions must be investigated, and perpetrators brought to court immediately.”
His remarks follow violent scenes outside Ol Kalou Comprehensive School polling station during the parliamentary by-election, where chaos briefly disrupted what had largely been a peaceful voting exercise.
