Kenya’s Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has disclosed that at least 579 people were killed in mob justice incidents across the country since January 2025, underscoring the scale of extrajudicial violence.
Regional Breakdown
Appearing before the Senate on Wednesday, Murkomen revealed the counties with the highest fatalities:
- Kiambu – 58 deaths
- Nairobi – 55 deaths
- Kisumu – 36 deaths
- Embu – 33 deaths
- Kirinyaga – 28 deaths
In total, 845 mob justice incidents were reported in 2025, leaving 266 people injured.
Government Measures
Responding to a question by Kisumu Senator Tom Ojienda, Murkomen outlined several steps being taken to curb mob justice:
- Enhanced police training in crowd control and human rights.
- Community collaboration to improve reporting of incidents.
- Deployment of standby teams at all police stations for rapid response.
- Introduction of a toll-free number for crime reporting.
- Expansion of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to strengthen forensic and intelligence-based operations.
- Implementation of a digital Occurrence Book (OB) to allow the public to monitor cases in real time, boosting transparency.
Restoring Public Trust
Murkomen emphasized that the government is working to rebuild confidence in law enforcement by:
- Strengthening community policing.
- Enhancing investigative capacity.
- Improving collaboration with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
- Increasing public engagement to ensure accountability.
“The government is strengthening community policing, enhancing investigative capacity, improving collaboration with the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and increasing public engagement to restore confidence among members of the public,” Murkomen stated.
