Show of State might and promises at Jukwaa la Usalama meetings

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen at the Nairobi edition of Jukwaa la Usalama. [Murkomen, X] CS Murkomen's Jukwaa la Usalama forums across the country have yielded very little, if anything, months after the visits. The highly publicized public engagements in the Ukambani region earlier this year have not yielded much, The Sunday Standard has learnt. The CS at different dates in April 2025 held meetings that brought together political leaders, security agencies, NGAOs, community leaders and the youth for candid conversations on the state of security and service delivery to the public in the Counties of Makueni, Kitui and Machakos. The Makueni edition was held at Makueni Boys grounds, bringing together diverse community representatives who collectively addressed several issues, among the top being vehicle theft-syndicate along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway and cross-border crimes where motorbikes, vehicles are stolen within Makueni and sold in Tanzania black markets. "Any group of persons caught engaging in criminal activities would be dealt with severely to deter others," Murkomen told journalists then. However, The Standard has learnt that the cross-border crimes along the international border between Kenya and Tanzania through Loitokitok have not ceased yet. "There is no motorbikes clearance at the border with Tanzania and along Loitokitok. The officers only allow you to push the motorbike to the other side and so thieves take this advantage," said Patrick Mwendwa, Boda Boda chairman, Kibwezi West. The boda boda operators named Ubetu, Rombo, Tarakea townships as notorious for the boda boda syndicate. In Kitui County, the one thorny issue that kept cropping up during the Jukwaa la Usalama forum was the perennial insecurity along the Kitui - Tana River County border. Residents raised concern with the prolonged conflict between the local farmers and armed camel herders who cross over to Kitui county from North Eastern Kenya Counties through the porous border, resulting in deaths, eviction of people and destruction to property. Residents urged CS Murkomen to address the resource-based conflict between the farmers and the pastoralists which has been going on for decades. In the same breath, the locals sounded an alarm to the cabinet secretary over the infiltration of South Kitui and Mwingi North national game reserves by armed bandits, some who are involved in illegal grazing and others in charcoal burning, thus threatening both the people and wildlife. While responding to the insecurity issue, especially along the porous border, Murkomen commended the county government led by Governor Julius Malombe for constructing eight police stations along the border and promised that in three weeks' time, the national government will operationalize the stations by deploying adequate police officers to the stations to enhance security along the border. However, five months after that commitment was made, the national government has not deployed police officers to the border stations yet. The residents had also called on the CS to order a proper boundary demarcation of the two counties with a view to addressing the conflicts. The residents further raised an issue with land grabbing and encroachment of public land by powerful individuals and squatters as well as communal land disputes involving group ranches. CS Murkomen said that his ministry will work closely with the lands ministry to survey and properly title and document public land. He further ordered a crackdown on grabbed public land, especially lands belonging to police and prisons. In Machakos County, Murkomen, flanked by his Principal Secretary, Raymond Omollo held a Jukwaa la Usalama forum at the County Commissioner's residence where land fraud and insecurity for university and college students came out as the most pressing issues affecting residents. University and college students highlighted a vicious trend of violent robberies where gangs on prowl attacked and robbed students of money, laptops, phones and other personal belongings mostly at night. The insecurity, the students submitted, was aggravated by a breakdown of security lighting infrastructure within Machakos town and its environs and which they called upon both levels of the government to urgently address. But Saturday, the president of Machakos University students, Ashley Lagat told The Sunday Standard that part of the deliberations aimed at boosting security in and out of the campus had been implemented, but challenges still abound on the sustainability of the measures. Reacting to the pleas, Murkomen fired a warning to all land cheats, including any government officials who may be involved in aiding fraudulent deals. Machakos County Commissioner, Josephine Ouko on Thursday said the government made remarkable progress in implementing land reforms especially by unlocking major development projects. "There were issues about the construction of Miwongoni dam occasioned by disputes over land ownership but we are happy that a compromise has been reached and the funds to set up the mega project have been unlocked," she said. Millions of taxpayers' money could have been spent on Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen's lavish Jukwa la Usalama meetings in Nyanza and Western Kenya. In Kisumu, for instance, the event held on September 18, attracted over 2,000 delegates drawn from various sectors including the police, religious leaders, rights groups and national government officials rolling in some of the biggest machines taxpayers can afford. For a start, Murkomen had an entourage of over 30 fuel guzzlers that ferried him from the Kisumu Port, where his choppers had landed, to the Kisumu County Commissioner's office in a show of power and opulence. The CS then held a town hall meeting at Tom Mboya Labour College, which was attended by about 2000 delegates comprised mainly of the National Government Administration Officers, Police, community leaders and representatives of various interest groups. According to an assistant chief who didn't want to be named, there was a transport reimbursement of Sh1,000 shillings for NGAO officials who attended the event. Kisumu County has over 300 NGAO officials. The CS later attended a media engagement meeting at a hotel (Grand Royal Swiss Hotel) in Kisumu where he responded to questions evolving around various security matters, especially touching on the region, including the Sondu border row, gender based violence and existence of several roadblocks on roads in Nyanza. The Sunday Standard also established that some of the delegates who attended were also paid Sh1,000 by his entourage. The situation was also similar in Kakamega when the expensive motorcade brought the small Western town to a standstill. Just like Kisumu, the fleet of fuel guzzlers was over 30 as government officials pocketing monstrous allowances followed in close tow. It was a feast in Coast Jukwaa La Usalama meetings Hundreds of fuel guzzlers, sumptuous meals and allowances were the hallmark of Jukwaa la Usalama as it hit the home stretch in the last county of Nairobi yesterday. Other than the cost, the public barazas exposed police who came to the job drunk or corrupt. In April, the CS landed in the Coast region in style for the first series of Jukwaa la Usalama, where he crisscrossed the six counties with a high-powered delegation. The entourage was made up of two helicopters and several top-of-the-range fuel-guzzling vehicles for top security officials and political leaders. In tow were Eliud Lagat, the Deputy Inspector General, and his Administration Police counterpart, Mr Gilbert Masengeli, Coast Regional security bosses and political leaders. In Mombasa, the participants were served with sumptuous meals. The menu comprised chicken, chapati, fish, ugali, rice and meat prepared by outside caterers. It is not clear how much the meal cost, but all NGAO officials were paid an allowance of between Sh1,000 and Sh3,000, depending on the distance they covered. "The money was in a briefcase. We were paid an allowance of Sh1000 to Sh3000, depending on where one came from. I don't know if the participants were paid," said a chief. After Kilifi, the CS moved to Lamu and Tana River before he concluded the coast circuit with Kwale and Taita Taveta counties. In Taita Taveta, the CS first landed in a helicopter in Voi town before proceeding to Mwatate town 27 kilometres away, where he commissioned the Sh22 million Kamtonga Police Station. He addressed dozens of National Government Administrative Officers (NGAOs) drawn from Voi, Mwatate, Wundanyi and Taveta sub-counties. He was accompanied by DIGs Langat and Masengeli, Regional Coast Coordinator Rodah Onyancha and security chiefs in Taita Taveta, Mombasa and Nairobi. During Murkomen's visit, the presence of the government was heavily felt as a result of the several state-of-the-art vehicles that traversed the dusty Mwatate Sub County. The NGAO officials complained they are facing logistical problems while discharging their duties with a lack of fuel and strong vehicles to effectively fight crime. They also lack military boots and have been demanding fuel and facilitation to ferry suspects to police stations. "We have no stationery in our stations, like OB, which has become a rare commodity, and we are currently using calendars for case files. We have not received AIEs since 2017, and suppliers have refused to supply food to remand prisoners," an OCS told the shocked Murkomen. He told the CS and his high-ranking delegation that the Mahindra vehicles they are currently using are very weak without spare parts, adding that they need powerful vehicles like Land Cruisers and motorbikes to effectively conduct patrols in bad terrains. "Sending suspects to police stations remains a major challenge to the police officers. At the same time, all new police stations have no police officers, vehicles, houses, stationery and furniture to operate," the OCS told the CS. By Clinton Ambujo, Benard Sanga, Stephen Nzioka, Erastus Mulwa and Phillip Muasya

Show of State might and promises at Jukwaa la Usalama meetings

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