Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has announced that several individuals have been arrested, and vehicles impounded following a waste dumping incident involving Nairobi County officials at Stima Plaza. The act was reportedly a retaliatory measure during a dispute between the county and Kenya Power.
In a press briefing held on Thursday, Murkomen explained that while it was widely believed that the National Police Service (NPS) had not intervened in the issue, several arrests had already been made. He confirmed that some of the vehicles involved in the incident had been confiscated.
Accompanied by the Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, and Director of Criminal Investigations, Mohammed Amin, the CS condemned the waste dumping, calling it “primitive” and a significant public health threat.
He pointed out that such actions could lead to the spread of diseases like cholera, emphasizing that the National Police Service had responded promptly, even if the response had not been widely publicized.
“Dumping waste with the intent of causing disease outbreaks like cholera is unacceptable and highly inappropriate. From the very beginning, the NPS took action,” Murkomen said.
“Although we did not publicize our actions as we should have, a report from Kenya Power led to the arrest of some county officials for questioning. Additionally, multiple lorries involved in the incident were detained by the police.”
Murkomen also explained that this information had not been made public earlier, leading to a heated debate in Parliament the previous day. During that session, lawmakers, including Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, demanded the summoning of IG Kanja to explain why no action had been taken despite the severity of the situation.
As a result, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula ordered that IG Kanja be called to Parliament next week to clarify the actions taken by the police and outline the next steps.
In the briefing, Murkomen assured that a formal report on the investigation’s progress would be submitted to Parliament in due time.
“This information was not made available during the debate yesterday, but we have agreed that the Ministry and the National Police Service will compile all relevant details and present them to Parliament for further consideration,” Murkomen stated.
This update comes just a day after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) instructed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to launch an inquiry into the three-day stand-off.
Deputy DPP Jacinta Nyamosi gave the DCI a seven-day window to investigate the incident and submit a detailed report to determine the cause of the conflict and decide on further legal actions.
The dispute reportedly stemmed from a series of extreme measures taken by the two entities over large unpaid debts.
Kenya Power had disconnected electricity to several government offices in Nairobi due to an outstanding Ksh 3 billion electricity bill, while the Nairobi County government retaliated by dumping waste at Stima Plaza over an unpaid Ksh 4.9 billion debt owed to them by the power company.
The conflict was resolved on Wednesday afternoon after a meeting attended by Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei.
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