CS Murkomen Rekindles Beef With Cherargei Over Demand To Resign

Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kipchumba Murkomen on Wednesday, June 11, hit back at Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei over his repeated calls for Murkomen to resign.

Addressing the Senate, Murkomen brushed off Cherargei’s ongoing attacks, hinting that they stem from political motives rather than genuine concerns.

"Senator Cherargei has continued with his song of 'the minister must resign'. It is important to mention that every time I come to this house since I was appointed a minister, this same senator has been talking about my resignation," he said.

"When I was the minister of roads, Cherargei was arguing that I should resign because people were dying in road accidents. When I left the ministry, he kept quiet.

"When I went to the ministry of sports, it was the same Cherargei who said I must resign; since I left the ministry, he has never talked about the performance of volleyball or football teams. When I came to this ministry, he never waited for more than 2 months, he was saying I should resign," he continued.

Murkomen took a personal swipe at Cherargei, saying he once taught him and that he performed poorly in class.

"Senator Cherargei was my student; I taught him more than two subjects, and his performance was below average; he has no legitimacy to question my competence or performance," he remarked.

In his push for Murkomen’s resignation, Cherargei argued that the Interior Ministry is facing a leadership crisis and insisted that Murkomen should be held accountable. He also urged President William Ruto to reassign Murkomen to another ministry.

"The Ministry of Interior suffers from a leadership crisis, and it is good that the nation has seen the incompetence of CS Murkomen on this matter. If anybody has to resign, we must start with the CS he must be held accountable.

"It is high time the President does a cabinet reshuffle and takes CS Murkomen back to Sports because he likes bringing games to the business that we are discussing in this country," he appealed. 

Murkomen and Cherargei have been at loggerheads with each other in several episodes of their political fallouts. The UDA diehards have ganged up against each other more than twice, a tiff that began on October 27, 2023, when they clashed in public regarding contractors of road projects in the Rift Valley region.

While speaking during the funeral of the son of Chesumei MP Paul Biego Polo, in Kalenjin dialect, Cherargei expressed his reservations against the contractor who won a tender to pave a road project, arguing that he was not from the local community.

Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen (left) and Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei during a fundraiser in aid of women and boda boda groups in Iten, Elgeyo-Marakwet County, on June 23, 2023. /NATION