Kindiki urged the police to act professionally and with restraint in the management of extremely provocative situations that arise in the course of the violent riots.
Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kithure Kindiki has announced that the government will crack down on those who are found to have planned and orchestrated the infiltration of the anti-government protests using criminal gangs who caused havoc on public and private property.
In a statement to newsrooms on Tuesday, July 2, the CS first condemned the civil unrest that occurred in Nairobi and several other towns in Kenya last Tuesday as a result of which lives were lost, property worth billions of shillings destroyed or looted, and an attempt was made to burn down Parliament Buildings.
The unrest, legitimately initiated as the democratic expression of public disapproval of the Finance Bill 2024, led to the termination of the Finance Bill 2024 by President William Ruto.
“Notwithstanding the termination of the Bill, hordes of marauding criminal gangs continue to pose a grave danger to the public, riding on announced plans for peaceful protests to disturb public order, commit arson, obstruct public transport and terrorize the people of Kenya with violence,” the CS stated in part.
Photo collage of the RECCE Squad outside a building in Nairobi on July 2, 2024. /CHRIS SAMBU.VIRAL TEA KE
Kindiki urged the police to act professionally and with restraint in the management of extremely provocative situations that arise in the course of the violent riots.
“The Government commends all law enforcement officers who continue to discharge their challenging mandate of preventing crime and protecting the lives and property of the people of Kenya. Claims of some instances of unlawful conduct by law enforcement officers will be investigated and appropriate action taken,” he promised.
He further assured Kenyans that security agencies remain alert to intercept and thwart harm to the public and attempts to attack critical infrastructure and the emblems of the country’s sovereignty.
Kindiki disclosed that upon completion of the ongoing evidential analysis, the government, in assurance to members of the public, will embark on arresting the planners, executors and financiers of large-scale arson, violent robberies and other felonious crimes.
“The organizers of today’s orgy of violence in parts of Nairobi, Mombasa and several other parts of the Country are reportedly planning to repeat their anarchic chaos and cruel plunder again on Thursday and Sunday this week, and perhaps much more frequently in the future.
“This reign of terror against the people of Kenya and the impunity of dangerous criminal gangs must end at whatever cost. The Government is determined to stop criminals aiming to terrorize the public and harm Kenya, notwithstanding attempts to politicize crime,” he added.
For the day, protests broke out across several towns. Many instances of businesses being looted and property being vandalised were reported.
In Nairobi, tensions escalated after protestors blocked major highways leading to the city’s Central Business District, forcing police officers to call for reinforcement.
On Monday, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) ordered the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) to expedite investigations into the reported cases of vandalism of both private and public property reported from the ongoing protests.
Police lob teargas to disperse protesters along Waiyaki Way on June 2, 2024. /VIRAL TEA KE