16 police stations targeted in ‘anarchist’ attacks during protests: Murkomen » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 15 – Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has revealed that 16 police stations and posts were attacked and either burnt or severely damaged during violent nationwide protests held on June 25 and July 7.

Speaking Tuesday during the State of the National Security Address, Murkomen condemned the attacks as a calculated assault on state authority, warning that such actions threaten Kenya’s ability to maintain law and order.

He expressed grave concern over what he termed as “anarchist” attacks that included the theft of firearms, destruction of police property, and disruption of public safety systems.

“This disturbing trend of targeting police stations, stealing firearms and ammunition, points to a coordinated attempt to subvert the state’s ability to guarantee law, order, and public safety,” he said.

“When a police post or station is raided or razed, it leaves the public at the mercy of dangerous criminals.”

Among the worst-hit areas was the Dagoretti Police Post, where Murkomen disclosed that criminals stole five guns and razed residential buildings occupied by officers and their families.

He claimed that one of the stolen firearms from Dagoretti was used in a robbery in Naivasha just a day later.

The Interior CS revealed that a total of nine suspects have so far been arrested in connection with the Dagoretti incident.

In Kikuyu, protesters torched the police station along with the sub-county headquarters, the National Registration Bureau office, Kikuyu Law Courts, and several other government installations.

At the Gachui Police Post, four additional firearms were destroyed by fire.

Arson

Murkomen also described a similarly brazen attack on Olkalou Police Station, where arsonists burned the station, killed three suspects in custody, and destroyed 26 vehicles, 18 county government motorcycles, the exhibit store, and the report office.

In Matuu, eight police officers were injured when youths stormed the police station, damaging several government vehicles and the station building. Eighteen suspects have been charged.

In Nakuru County, the Viwandani Patrol Base in Naivasha was torched, and criminals snatched a firearm loaded with 20 rounds in Shauri Moyo.

He described the attacks as unprecedented.

“The violence and destruction witnessed across the country in recent weeks, however, were on a scale that has never been witnessed before,” said Murkomen.

“It is incumbent upon us, therefore, to nip it in the bud with the full force of the law.”

The government has said that during the two days of unrest, 42 Kenyans lost their lives, and nearly 600 others were injured—including 496 law enforcement officers.

Hundreds of businesses were looted or destroyed, thrusting many families into financial ruin. Public and private properties also suffered widespread destruction.