Foreign Affairs CS Alfred Mutua has called out the Office of the United Nations Human Rights (OHCHR) over a statement made last week on the anti-government protests.
OHCHR spokesperson Jeremy Laurence in a statement called on the authorities to ensure that Kenyans are allowed to exercise their rights in accordance with Article 37 of the Constitution.
The agency further asked relevant authorities to cease using live bullets to disperse 'peaceful protesters' further alleging that 23 people had been killed in the melee.
In a statement to newsrooms, Mutua contested the statement as inaccurate and misleading.
"This statement was not only inaccurate but misleading and appeared to have been written in support of a propaganda campaign by people opposed to the democratic will of the people," Mutua said.
"The Ministry has protested to the office of the spokesperson on his unsubstantiated statement."
Mutua stated that Kenya will be exploring 'appropriate channels to ensure that the international community is not sucked into conspiracies that are aimed at destabilising our nation.'
He further called out Laurence for turning a blind eye to the reports of destruction and violence witnessed during the protests questioning whether the body had fallen prey to propaganda campaigns.
"We have seen goons destroy a highway with no police around. These violent demonstrators have attacked innocent members of the public, looted and destroyed private property, and attacked and injured police officers who were on duty to ensure law and order," the statement reads.
"Why is the UN Human Right spokesperson blind to all these? Is that office fallen prey to propaganda and being used to lay ground for a smear campaign?"
He defended the government's position when quelling the protests saying that the demonstrations normally 'border on economic sabotage and thus warrant intervention by security agencies.'
"The government of Kenya endeavours to protect the rights of individuals engaged in peaceful assembly and peaceful protests whilst maintaining public safety law and order in line with the constitution of Kenya, and as provided for in the UN Declaration of Human Rights," Mutua said.
On Sunday the Kenyan government through The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kenya to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva issued a similar response to the OHCHR.
The mission criticised the OHCHR over the wrongful use of the term 'peaceful protests' in their statement saying that last week's protests entailed acts of rioting, vandalism and large-scale destruction of civilian objects which can't be termed as peaceful.
The mission further contested Laurence's allegations that the protests were widespread arguing that the acts of violence were only witnessed in a few areas.
"The Permanent Mission wishes to contest the portrayal of these violent acts as being widespread," the statement reads.
"The situation was appropriately managed by our law enforcement agencies to ensure the safety of the majority of our peaceful citizens and limit the extent of the disruption."
They cautioned the UN agency on its reliance on 'third party' sources of information claiming that assertions from those sources 'are often not corroborated by other independent assessments.'
"The use of such information without due diligence raises concerns about the quality and reliability of the data in question. This method of information gathering bypasses the primary duty of OHCHR to establish the facts before making such critical statements," the statement read.