Former LSK President Faith Odhiambo/Handout


Former LSK president Faith Odhiambo has hit back at Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen's dismissal of concerns over political goonism, saying the State cannot shift the burden of violence from attackers to citizens.

The immediate former Law Society of Kenya president said Murkomen's claim that Kenya was not facing a goon crisis amounted to a denial of citizens' lived reality.
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Her remarks came two days after Murkomen said politicians should avoid areas where goon violence was apparent, arguing that Kenya was safe and that claims of a goon crisis were exaggerated.
“If you know someone has organised goons in Homa Bay, and police have told you that someone has organised goons, why are you going there?” Murkomen said on August 22 in Naiberi, Uasin Gishu county.
“Stop hyping, stop the hyperbole, stop creating a crisis that is not there. It's the figment of your imagination, Kenya is safe and we will continue being safe.”
But Odhiambo said public safety could not be achieved by asking citizens to calculate the risks of exercising their constitutional rights based on the anticipated presence of organised violence.
“The more important question is not why opposition actors went where violence occurred. It is why citizens must calculate the risk of exercising their constitutional rights based on the anticipated presence of organised violence,” she said in a post on X on Monday.
The lawyer said the responsibility for political violence should rest with those who unleash or enable it, rather than those who speak or seek accountability.
“The burden cannot be shifted from those who unleash or enable violence to those who assemble, speak, campaign or seek political accountability,” Odhiambo said.
Linda Mwananchi convoy comes under attack from suspected goons on its way to Homa Bay town on August 16, 2026. /SCREENGRAB

Odhiambo was among members of the Linda Mwananchi brigade that came under attack on August 16 when a caravan led by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna entered Homa Bay for a sensitisation drive across the county.

The violence left scores of people injured and at least four people dead, while several properties were destroyed, including six vehicles that were torched.

Police launched investigations into the incident and said last week that at least 27 suspects had been arrested and arraigned in connection with the violence.

Odhiambo said the Homa Bay incident should prompt an independent investigation into the people involved in political violence, including those who organise, finance or protect them.

“Kenya does not need euphemisms or competing narratives. It needs an independent investigation into the identity, mobilisation, financing and protection of individuals involved in political violence and accountability that reaches beyond the visible foot soldiers,” she said.

She argued that institutions capable of identifying peaceful protesters should equally be capable of identifying those who attack them.

“A State that knows how to identify peaceful protesters should also know how to identify those who attack them,” Odhiambo said.

She said warning citizens to stay away from places where violence was expected was not a substitute for protecting their constitutional rights.

“Public safety is not achieved by warning citizens to avoid places where violence may occur. It is achieved by preventing the violence, protecting the right to participate in public affairs, and ensuring that no political actor or security institution operates above the law,” she said.

Odhiambo's remarks come amid growing political debate over the rise of violence at political rallies, with opposition leaders accusing the government of failing to protect.

With the State maintaining that the country remains secure, Odhiambo said denial of the problem could not resolve the underlying crisis.

“Denial may manage a news cycle, but only accountability can restore public trust,” she said.