Murkomen, Cherargei rivalry set to reignite as CS appears before senators

A collage of Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen and Nandi Senator Samsom Cherargei./FILE

The long-running political feud between Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei is expected to resurface on Thursday, August 7, 2025.

The CS will appear before the Senate Standing Committee on Information, Communication, and Technology.

He is scheduled to respond to a question posed by Cherargei regarding the digitisation of government services, a key pillar of Kenya's digital transformation agenda.

The meeting will be held at Bunge Towers, with media houses invited to cover what is widely anticipated to be a tense session.

The CS is expected to brief senators on the status of digitisation efforts aimed at enhancing transparency, efficiency, and accessibility of public services—a critical area under the Ministry of Interior.

This is not the first time the two leaders are facing off in a public forum.

Cherargei has consistently called for Murkomen’s resignation, accusing him of incompetence and failure to address rising insecurity. His criticisms date back to Murkomen's tenure as CS for Roads and Transport, where he faulted him for failing to prevent road accidents.

“The Interior CS has failed Kenyans. He must step down,” Cherargei has repeatedly declared in recent months.

The war of words took a personal turn last month after Murkomen, during a Senate appearance, claimed to have taught Cherargei in law school. The senator promptly denied the assertion.

“For the record, CS Murkomen never taught me in any class of law,” Cherargei posted on social media, further stoking tensions between the two.

In response, Murkomen took a jab at the senator’s constant criticism across different ministries.

“When I left the Sports Ministry, he never said I must resign because of the volleyball loss. When I joined Interior, he didn’t wait two months before calling for my resignation,” Murkomen quipped during his last appearance in the Senate.

Observers say the animosity between the two leaders goes beyond policy disagreements, reflecting deeper political and regional rivalries within the ruling coalition.