Hiram KImathi: Police Officer Who Defied Transfer to Turkana Decries Impending Arrest
- Police Constable Hiram Kimathi's resolve to stand against his bosses seems to be detrimental to his career in the police service
- The officer publicly spoke against CS Kipchumba Murkomen's order to police to shoot to kill violent protesters, earning him a transfer from Machakos to the far-flung, volatile Todonyang base
- Kimathi defied the transfer, saying he was ready to be fired; on Saturday, July 12, he claimed there were plans to arrest him
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Eli Odaga, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.
Police Constable Hiram Kimathi now claims he is being pursued over his current stance against the government.
Source: Twitter
Inside PC Hiram Kimathi's woes
The police officer caught the attention of the country after openly defying his bosses' directive.
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He received a letter transferring him from Machakos County, where he is currently stationed, to Turkana.
This was after the officer went on social media to criticise Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen over his recent shoot-to-kill command to police.
Kimathi said the transfer from Kyumbi Police Station to the volatile Todonyang base in Turkana, on the Kenya-Ethiopia border, was meant to punish him for going against his bosses.
On X on Saturday, July 12, the office claimed he had been notified of an impending arrest.
Putting up a courageous disposition, the police officer suspected that charges were being cooked up to punish him, but he said he would not be bothered.
"I will be arrested any minute from now ..for offences that I don’t know but I thank God it's worth it," read his X post which got much traction on the platform.
What PC Hiram Kimathi told CS Murkomen
In his defiance, Kimathi was not kind to his immediate and distant bosses.
The officer, who is under the Kenya Police Service, asked the commander of Kyumbi Police Station to consider taking his children to the volatile Todonyang area.
He addressed the same message to Murkomen and Deputy Inspector General of Police, Eliud Lagat, who is also in charge of the Kenya Police Service (KPS).
According to Kimathi, standing against the repression of the public perpetrated by the police was not a crime.
Source: Twitter
He said it was his resolve to stand for what is right, even if it means losing his job.
As earlier hinted, Kimathi's tribulations emanated from his reaction to Murkomen's command to the police.
What CS Murkomen ordered police to do on violent protesters
On June 26, the CS authoritatively asked the police to shoot to kill violent protesters who detour from the protests to raid police stations.
This was after a couple of police stations were torched in various parts of the country.
Murkomen said that anyone harbouring the thought to raid a police station is a hardened criminal and deserves no mercy.
He argued that if given the chance, the intruders would harm the police without a second thought; they therefore should not be spared.
The CS promised to defend the police in court should they be prosecuted for killing protesters who turn violent.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
