Gachagua Faults Murkomen for President’s Security Lapse in Kilifi
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 25 – Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua has renewed demands for the immediate dismissal of Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, citing what he described as a “glaring security lapse” surrounding President William Ruto.
While addressing the media at a press conference at party headquarters in Nairobi, Gachagua insisted that Murkomen’s continued stay in office is untenable, warning that with a high-stakes election on the horizon, the CS has demonstrated a fundamental inability to manage the nation’s security apparatus.
“How can Mukomen guarantee the safety of the ordinary Kenyans if he cannot guarantee the security of his appointing authority?,”stated Gachagua.
This comes a day after a man breached the president’s inner security cordon, briefly interrupting the President’s speech during a recent public appearance in Kilifi County.
He noted that the incident was not isolated, pointing to a troubling pattern of security failures that he argued exposed just how dangerously thin the president’s protection had become.
Gachagua argued that in any serious democracy, both the CS Interior and the Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, would have already stepped down following such a public and embarrassing failure.
“In other jurisdictions, by now, the CS Interior would have resigned, the IG would have resigned, everybody would have resigned,” stated Gachagua.
Additionally, The former Deputy President made it clear that, as much as he does not like President Ruto after their ugly split in October 2024, he does not wish him ill will and that if anything happened to him, the whole country might plunge into turmoil.
Further, Gachagua recounted a series of incidents, including a shoe thrown at Ruto in Migori in May 2025 and a water bottle hurled at him in Soweto, Kibra, on April 26 and 28, as evidence of a systemic breakdown.
He also cited a separate February 6 incident in Mombasa, where another individual breached the security cordon, with the former DP saying both the inner and outer security lines had been caught completely flat-footed.
Gachagua, who said he had undergone paramilitary training, questioned where the president’s Aide-de-Camp was during the Kilifi incident, noting the ADC is the last line of defense between the president and any physical threat.
“The Interior docket required a mature, non-partisan figure with no political ambitions, ambitious ministers were prone to weaponising security agencies for personal gain”.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja in the wake of the security breach has since ordered a change in the presidential escort detail, with William Sawe taking over as the new PEU Commandant.
