Murkomen has reason to smile, giving 'promise of timeline' to equip CCTV cameras

CS Kipchumba Murkomen at the launch of flagship report and Action plan by the Eastern and Southern Africa Commission on Drugs during the fourth high-level consultation meeting in Nairobi on June 2025. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

There was a spring in Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen's gait as he descended the stairs to the front of Harambee House, early in the week, to announce what he thought was revolutionary approach to policing.

He had the full command of his powerful office to back him up: The beleaguered Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, and his Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo, who flanked him.

Murkomen appeared to have had a good night; his face was freshly shaved. And he spoke breathlessly about the breath-taking reforms, in the aftermath of the murder of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang, while in police custody.

"It's been a long-time promise," he started, a poetic quip from a man who speaks so glibly. He was here, he said flashing a wan smile, to offer a "promise of timeline" to ensure that all police stations across the country would be equipped with CCTV cameras. "We want to move it from promise to reality."

I don't know which universe Murkomen inhabits, his expensive watch probably ticks to a rhythm in a different time zone, but the reality on the ground is somewhat different from Murkomen's revolution in policing, televised on CCTV.

After all, the Central Police Station, where Ojwang was held for a few hours, perhaps alive, perhaps dead, had a fully functional CCTV system.

And the system worked so efficiently, someone had to seek a technician and pay him to tinker with the recording.

The gospel according to one James Mukhwana, the police officer who claimed he had a special assignment from his boss to ensure Ojwang was "well taken care of," says he unleashed other inmates on Ojwang, with the specific intent of harming or killing him.

They succeeded in doing the latter, before the official cover-up commenced.

I doubt it that in this wide world, there is an invention by man or machine that could cure such criminal behaviour, when those in charge of maintaining law and order are the ones violating it.

As Kenyans are wont to say, one is better off dealing with crooks, because you can negotiate your freedom. With our police, their disregard for human life is a reflection of the dogs' life that we subject them to.

How about installing CCTV in those mabati sheds we call police lines, for a start?