President Ruto authorises use of force by police during protests

President William Ruto has ordered the police to shoot protesters who near police stations on the leg before taking them to hospitals.

Speaking today while inspecting the ongoing construction of police houses in Kilimani, the president directed that those found looting or destroying property during protests should not be fatally shot but injured.

“Anyone who burns down someone else’s business and property, let them be shot in the leg and then they go to the hospital as they head to court. Yes, do not kill, but shoot and break the legs. Destroying people’s property is not right,” the president ordered.

This is even as he warned political leaders of financing unrest, claiming that they want to overthrow his government.

According to the president, goons who attack officers, loot, and burn police stations are declaring war.

“Those who attack our police, security installations, including police stations, are declaring war. It is terrorism, and we are going to deal with you firmly. We cannot have a nation run by terror and governed by violence; it will not happen under my watch,” he said.

His remarks come a few days after the Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen had given an order for the police to shoot and kill anyone who approaches a police station.

While issuing the orders, Murkomen claimed that it was ‘an order from above’

However, the CS was forced to retract his statement after outrage and backlash, saying he was misquoted.

Recently, the country has witnessed a series of protests over the past weeks, led mostly by the youth aggrieved by the rising cost of living and suppression of dissent.

Several of the demonstrations have turned deadly, with human rights groups accusing police of using excessive force.

A report by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights indicates that 31 people were killed and 107 others injured, while multiple businesses were vandalized across 15 counties during the Saba Saba protests.