Kisumu Governor Peter Anyang Nyong’o has sharply condemned the handling of the loan dispute involving former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju, warning that the apparent deployment of police in a civil commercial matter raises grave concerns about adherence to the rule of law in Kenya.
In a press statement issued to newsrooms on Sunday, March 15, Nyong’o said the events surrounding Tuju’s case “raise serious questions about the conduct of institutions entrusted with upholding the rule of law,” cautioning that arbitrary actions must not undermine Kenya’s hard-won democratic gains.
“Kenya has travelled a long and painful road to build a democratic society grounded in the protection of civil liberties and the rights of its citizens,” the governor said. “It is therefore deeply concerning when institutions mandated to safeguard those rights appear to act in ways that undermine the very principles they were created to defend.”
Nyong’o took issue with the alleged use of uniformed police officers to facilitate actions he said appeared to bypass established legal processes, stressing that debt recovery and commercial disputes fall squarely within civil law.
“The use of uniformed police officers, whose primary duty is to maintain law and order, to facilitate actions that seemingly bypass established legal processes is troubling,” he said. “Debt recovery and commercial disputes are clearly addressed within the framework of civil law, and such matters ought to be handled transparently and through lawful procedures.”
He further questioned reports of night operations and displays of force in what he described as a purely civil matter, asking: “Under what legal provision are such actions justified?”
Nyong’o noted that, regardless of the merits of the dispute, Tuju is a former senior public servant who does not warrant treatment that could be construed as humiliating.
“Whatever the merits of the commercial dispute at hand, he is neither a fugitive nor a criminal deserving of treatment that subjects him to humiliation or unnecessary public embarrassment,” the governor said.
The governor warned that misuse of state power risks eroding public trust, denting investor confidence, and damaging Kenya’s global standing, insisting that institutions must act with restraint, legality, and respect for due process.
“The credibility of our institutions, and indeed our national reputation, rests on their ability to act within the law and with decorum,” Nyong’o stated. “Investor confidence, public trust, and the broader ambition of positioning Kenya among the world’s leading economies cannot flourish where arbitrariness and excess appear to prevail.”
He concluded by emphasising that equal protection under the law is a constitutional imperative for all citizens.
“Ultimately, every Kenyan, regardless of status, creed, or political inclination, deserves fair and just treatment under the law,” he said, invoking the national anthem’s pledge: “Haki iwe ngao na mlinzi.”
Nyong’o warned that failure to uphold that promise risks reducing it “from a guiding national principle to mere words we recite.”
