Judge gives Murkomen 14 days to respond to shoot to kill cases

Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen. [File, Standard]

The High Court has given Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen 14 days to file responses and affidavits in three petitions seeking his removal from office over alleged shoot-to-kill remarks made last year.

Justice Gregory Mutai issued the directions on Thursday after lawyers representing Murkomen and the Attorney General requested more time, telling the court that the Cabinet Secretary had not yet signed the affidavits required for the cases.

"We were experiencing a problem of unsigned affidavits from the client. We seek 14 days to file the documents, but we have filed our grounds of opposition to the petitions," State Counsel Thande Kuria told the court.

The judge allowed the request but emphasised that the respondents must comply within the stipulated period.

He directed that all parties file and serve their responses within 14 days.

Justice Mutai further ordered that the three petitions be mentioned on July 27, 2026, for purposes of confirming compliance with the court's directions and determining the consolidation of the cases.

The petitions were filed separately by GEMA Watho Association, Katiba Institute, the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), and activist Dunstan Riziki. All challenge Murkomen's suitability to continue serving as Interior Cabinet Secretary following remarks, he allegedly made during a public address in Kikuyu Town, Kiambu County, on June 26, 2025.

According to court documents, the petitions stem from statements attributed to Murkomen in the aftermath of the deadly Gen Z protests that rocked parts of the country last year.

Murkomen was captured on video allegedly instructing police officers to take a hard-line approach against individuals targeting police stations during demonstrations.

"If anyone gets close to a police station, shoot and kill them. That is an order from above, not just from me," Murkomen is quoted as saying in the widely circulated video clip.

The remarks sparked widespread condemnation from human rights organisations, legal practitioners, civil society groups, and political leaders, who argued that such statements violated constitutional safeguards on the right to life and due process.

The petitioners contend that the alleged remarks amounted to an endorsement of extrajudicial killings and were inconsistent with the constitutional obligations of a state officer entrusted with overseeing the country's internal security docket.

They are seeking declarations that Murkomen violated the Constitution and is therefore unfit to continue holding public office.