Murkomen Orders Social Media Crackdown After Ruto Coffin Photos

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen on Friday, January 10, vowed to charge individuals using social media to threaten people, terming it as out of order. 

While speaking during the launch of Turbo Sub-county offices along with President William Ruto, Murkomen pledged to take stern action against the individuals using social media to generate and share distasteful images depicting the country’s top leadership brass.

“I want to assure you, your Excellency, myself, and our team in Interior, we are going to relook at this behaviour. We will make sure that we will charge all of those who are using social media to threaten others because if we do not do so, we will not have a country that is in order,” Murkomen averred.

“We must bring order to our country because we want Kenyans to live in a nation that is orderly. We want those who are in church, public service, and politics to support our president to ensure that we live in a country that has law and order,” he added. 

Murkomen, who was speaking in the presence of Ruto, questioned the motive behind the use of social media to perpetuate such acts, stressing that his ministry will be at the forefront of combating the behaviour.

“I want to ask this question to every parent in this country, particularly the church leaders and all the politicians, including those who do not agree with us politically and who are defending this kind of behaviour. If tomorrow your child goes to school and another child who they share the same class shares a picture of your child in a coffin, will you still defend that behaviour?” Murkomen posed.

“Because when that message is sent to your child, what is that erratic child saying? He is threatening your child that they will kill you! And we are here clapping for behaviours that have been perpetuated for a long time,” he stated.

Murkomen’s comments came amidst a recent spate of alleged forced disappearances of Kenyans, mostly youth, who disappeared over their sharing of images portraying Ruto in a coffin amongst other depreciating images.

Individuals such as Gideon Kibet, aka Kibet Bull, Billy Mwangi, Bernard Kavuli, and Peter Muteti disappeared over the festive period but were later released after a huge clamour for them to be freed.

Ruto broke his silence over the circulation of the images while speaking at Kapseret in Uasin Gishu, accusing certain politicians of funding young Kenyans to tarnish the reputation of government officials through such posts. 

Ruto stated that he had received reports indicating that some politicians had paid young social media users to create and share controversial images.

“I want to ask the youths not to be lured by small amounts of money to create images showing government officials inside coffins,” President Ruto remarked.

Addressing residents, the president warned youths in the area against engaging in such misconduct, emphasizing that it was harmful to society and could adversely affect their own families.

He cautioned, “Today, you will put your leaders inside a coffin; tomorrow, you will do the same to your parents and your siblings, and eventually, you will begin to kill each other.”