Amos Khaemba, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

- Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has defended President William Ruto over recent remarks about abductions in the country.

Speaking in Marsabit county on Wednesday, May 14, Murkomen stated that the president's remarks were taken out of context.

The president had come under sharp criticism after saying that all Kenyans reported missing under suspicious circumstances had been safely reunited with their families.

Some Kenyans suggested that the president was admitting that his administration had been carrying out illegal abductions.

However, Murkomen stated that Ruto's sentiments did not amount to admitting that the Kenya Kwanza administration has been carrying out illegal abductions.

The Interior CS said the fact that the government has been able to stop abductions does not mean an admission of the illegality.

I've seen that it's been taken out of context when he said that we have stopped abductions and that people have been returned to their homes. The fact that we are saying as government we have been able to stop abductions, the same way I have told you here we have been able to stop illegal mining in Moyale, it doesn't mean that we were the ones doing it. The same way the president spoke about we have been able to stop actions of abductions is the same way we are saying we have stopped illegal activitis. Saying we have stopped does not mean we were doing," Murkomen said.

Murkomen further argued that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is still investigating the people who have been kidnapping innocent Kenyans.

"That is the real question. The real, and I saw many people want to know, we want to know who abducted these people. That is the a very crucial of the matter, and that is the work of the DCI. That is the investigation that is ongoing," he added.

Earlier, former Chief Justice David Maraga strongly condemned Ruto’s recent comments denying the occurrence of enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings in Kenya.

His remarks came a day after the president claimed that all victims of abductions had been returned home and assured that such incidents would not happen again.

Maraga described the president’s statement as “unconscionable” and “deeply hurtful” to the families who are still seeking justice.

He pointed to the ongoing pain experienced by families like that of Brian Odhiambo, who has been missing since his abduction four months ago.

Maraga also drew attention to the increasing number of similar cases, including those documented by parents of young people who were killed during the June 2024 protests.

Source: TUKO.co.ke