UDA Secretary General Hassan Omar slams Murkomen over muslim brotherhood terror listing, urges shift in foreign policy

United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary General Hassan Omar has sharply criticized Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen over the decision to gazette the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.

Speaking on Sunday at Uhuru Park during a Palestine solidarity event organized by the Muslim community, Omar said the move does not reflect the views of many Muslims in Kenya and beyond.

“I saw my brother gazette the Muslim organization as a terrorist group. In my view, I do not share that position,” Omar said. “If anything, I believe we as Muslims should instead consider gazetting the Zionist State of Israel as a terrorist organization.”

Omar further urged Kenya to review its foreign policy and strengthen ties with the Muslim world rather than Israel.

“Let’s look for a way to influence Kenya’s policy on Israel,” he added. “We should ensure that we do not engage in any business with Israel. Kenya has more strategic interests in the Muslim world than it does in Israel.”

Murkomen, in a gazette notice dated September 19, listed the Muslim Brotherhood and Hizb-ur-Tahrir as terrorist entities under the Prevention of Terrorism Order 2025. The order, he stated, will remain in force indefinitely unless overturned by a court or revoked.

The Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist movement founded in Egypt in 1928, combines revivalist ideology with political and social activism. While it presents itself as peaceful, it has been outlawed in several countries, including Muslim-majority states, over accusations of fostering extremism and political opportunism.

Under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2012, the Interior Cabinet Secretary can list an organization as a terrorist entity if it is found to be committing, promoting, or supporting terrorism.

Once listed, the group is banned, its assets frozen, and all forms of support—financial, logistical, or ideological—are criminalized.