As the smoke thinned through the air Wednesday evening after after a long day of running battles between protesters on one side and police on the other, statements from top ranking ministries were made public, exposing gaps of communication in the government .
The ministries of interior & national administration and that of transport and infrastructure led by Professor Kindiki Kithure and Kipchumba Murkomen respectively were swift to condemn the demonstrations that happened countrywide as national shame.
The Interior CS Kithure Kindiki, in his 8 point statement, that has warned of eminent arrest of perpetrators and mobilizers of the Wednesday Maandamano, has been found to give a contradictory statement on the grant of permission to Azimio to hold the protests.
CS Kindiki’s letter has differed with a previous one issued by the police, his saying, Azimio broke its promise.
“They lied to the police that they would be holding a peaceful political rally at the Kamukunji grounds, only for them to unleash terror on innocent Kenyans, as a result of which lives have been lost, scores of law enforcement officers and civilians have been grievously injured and unimaginable loss to the Country’s economy have been occasioned,” Kindiki said.
On Tuesday, the Inspector General, outlawed the protests, citing lack of notification by the organizers and bloody track records of protests led by Azimio coalition leader Raila Odinga, occasioned by loss of lives and property.
The inspector general of Police Japhet Koome stated that the planned Wednesday protest are unlawful and the uniformed persons will deal with, ruthlessly ,decisively and as the law dictates, anyone found convening a rally.
“In this regard, no such demonstrations/gatherings/protests will be allowed tomorrow since no such notification has been presented to any police station,” he says.
“All lawful means will be used to disperse such demonstrations.”
The two contradicting statements from different offices who share one boss, paints a picture of a house whose things seem not to be in order, seven months after taking over the helm.
In what looks like inhouse wrangles with differing opinions, a situation that might plunge the state disorderly, more than one top officer might be calling the shots in the Kenya Kwanza administration.
With numerous fingers pointing at the office of the Inspector General of police for being a puppet of the executive, CS Kindiki will now have carefully to verify his facts before releasing any more pressers to avoid tainting his reputation as the best performing cabinet secretary in the President Ruto administration.
Currently, IG Japheth Koome is in a standoff with the chairman of the National Police Service over his forceful promotion of over 500 officers, a matter that has attracted law experts to define his role in matters human resource in the police service.