The Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has defended the government's decision to deploy plain-clothed police officers during the June 25 protests across the country.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

Murkomen addressed the nation at Harambee House on Thursday where he reiterated that security agencies routinely adjust how officers present themselves in public depending on the nature of the operation and the risks involved.

“ In the security sector there are many measures that are put in place to protect both political security officers not to be targeted in any way and not to compromise security operations,” stated Murkomen.

“In some cases they will not wear their uniform to protect them. And as I've told you before, those security measures are applied here and elsewhere for purpose of protecting our officers.”

📌 What You Need to Know

He explained that this also extends to the use of different number plates on security vehicles, with some plates deliberately concealed to protect officers and avoid compromising ongoing operations.

“So that includes designation of different number plates, sometimes even hiding them. Sometimes in some cases police officers will wear uniform,” stated Murkomen.

He made it clear that using officers without uniforms is not new, nor is it unique to Kenya, describing it as a standard security measure applied both locally and internationally.

The CS noted that plainclothes deployment is particularly common among officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), who were spread across the country to monitor and respond to any criminal activity during the protests. “For example, there are many DCI officers that were mingling with citizens across the country to ensure that if they see anybody committing an offense, they quickly arrest them and be able to bring them before the law,” stated Murkomen.

Thus, Murkomen said those DCI officers were tasked with blending into crowds during the protests, identifying offenders on the spot, and ensuring they were swiftly arrested and presented before the law.

The statement came as the government confirmed that 355 people had been arrested in connection with the June 25 protests, a figure that underscored the scale of the security response mounted that day, with Nairobi leading with 161 arrests.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke