NAIROBI, Kenya – Former Public Service Cabinet Secretary and ex-National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has dismissed claims by Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen that he oversaw the passage of Kenya’s Prevention of Terrorism Act, insisting the legislation predates his time in the Speaker’s chair.
Muturi, who served as Speaker from 2013 to 2022, said the law in question was enacted by the 10th Parliament in 2012, under the Grand Coalition Government, before he assumed the role.
“The Prevention of Terrorism Act was enacted by the 10th Parliament. It is Act No. 30 of 2012,” Muturi wrote on his official X account Thursday. “I was not the Speaker then.”
He clarified that the major counter-terror legislation passed under his watch was the Security Laws (Amendment) Act, 2014, which introduced changes to more than 20 laws, including the Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, Immigration Act, and Prisons Act.
“That Act was passed on December 18, 2014, by the 11th Parliament, which I presided over. It is Act No. 19 of 2014,” Muturi said, accusing Murkomen of misrepresenting the facts. “I would advise the Cabinet Secretary to verify facts before feeding the public propaganda.”
But speaking during a security forum in Uasin Gishu, Interior CS Murkomen stood by his claim, asserting that Muturi was central to the passage of the anti-terror law and had “stood firm” to push it through.
“Does former Speaker Justin Muturi forget that he passed this law by hook or by crook?” Murkomen posed. “He insisted that Kenya needed strong laws to protect the people from rogue elements.”
The public back-and-forth comes amid renewed national debate over the government’s use of anti-terror legislation to charge demonstrators arrested during the June 25 and July 7 anti-government protests.
The move—described by critics as an abuse of counter-terror laws—has sparked legal and civil society concerns, with some warning it risks criminalizing dissent and peaceful assembly.
Murkomen, however, has doubled down, defending the crackdown as lawful and necessary. “The Prevention of Terrorism Act is clear and unambiguous,” he said. “Those using petrol bombs to destroy courts and essential infrastructure qualify as terrorists.”
He also urged the Judiciary to uphold strict bail terms for protest suspects.
“Our courts must not be intimidated. Kenyans deserve protection from acts that threaten peace and order,” he added.
