Ruto "shoot to incapacitate" order draws mixed reactions
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro and his Belgut counterpart Nelson Koech. File | Nation
President William Ruto’s Wednesday directive to police officers to “shoot to incapacitate” protesters involved in acts of violence or destruction has ignited sharp debate across the country.
While some leaders from his camp have called for even harsher measures, others, including prominent opposition figures, have condemned the remarks as unconstitutional, dangerous and a potential trigger for state-sanctioned violence.
Beyond the humorous memes circulating on social media, leaders from both the ruling and opposition parties have weighed in on the President’s directive.
Belgut MP Nelson Koech, who chairs the Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee, defended the President and went further to state that such individuals should be killed.
Speaking on Thursday during a series of public engagements in his constituency, Mr Koech criticised Dr Ruto’s “shoot the leg” order as too lenient.
“I want to thank the President for what he said yesterday-- 'shoot but do not kill.’ But I want to say it here: shoot and kill. You cannot have someone coming after your life and you fail to defend yourself. You cannot have someone terrorising your family and still hesitate to act. You cannot allow someone to destroy your business, armed with weapons, and tell me you shouldn’t shoot to kill,” said Mr Koech.
"Lethal force"
He claimed that the National Police Service Act and the Sixth Schedule provide police officers with the authority to use lethal force, although he failed to mention that the law specifies strict conditions under which armed officers may shoot to kill.
“These people have been terrorising others. Anyone attempting to storm a protected area like State House is not an ordinary protester. That is a criminal, an armed threat that must be met with equal force,” Mr Koech asserted.
However, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua criticised the President’s statements, arguing that such orders insult victims of past police brutality.
“You have gone even further to add insult to injury by ordering police to shoot innocent Kenyans in the legs. We will report you not to the Kenyan police but to the International Criminal Court, a place you're familiar with,” said Mr Gachagua.
Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka also condemned the President’s remarks, describing them as dangerous to both citizens and the Constitution.
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“The President has become part part of the misrule when he says ‘shoot them on the legs.’ What [Interior CS] Kichumba Murkomen said about shooting people outside police stations is now echoed by the Head of State himself. There’s something fundamentally wrong,” Kalonzo said.
In a TV interview, Mr Musyoka reminded the public that the President swore an oath to protect the Constitution and the lives of Kenyans yet his comments suggest a deviation from that responsibility.
Jubilee Party Secretary-General Jeremiah Kioni added that such remarks from the President are dangerous and undermine the constitutional right to peaceful protest.
“There is no time you can shoot someone and expect everything to remain the same. Once a bullet leaves the barrel, it is meant to kill. Shooting someone in the leg does not guarantee survival. We’ve seen people die after being shot in the leg,” Mr Kioni said.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, speaking in Murang'a County, strongly criticised the government, accusing it of being complicit—either by omission or commission—in the mayhem surrounding recent protests, and condemned what he termed a "reckless and unacceptable shoot-to-kill order."
Mr Nyoro questioned how a government that allocates Sh50 billion to intelligence gathering—out of a security budget exceeding Sh400 billion—could claim ignorance over who was responsible for the loss of lives, property, and livelihoods during the unrest.
“A government that spends Sh50 billion on intelligence alone cannot turn around and say it doesn’t know who is responsible. Such an administration has no business calling itself a government,” he said.
He added that the government owes Kenyans clear answers and should stop “peddling petty narratives” about the state of affairs. Instead, he urged leaders to embrace accountability and abandon “dangerous directives that are causing more deaths.”
Mr Nyoro placed full blame on the government for the chaos and what he claimed were more than 50 deaths over the past month. He accused the administration of betraying its constitutional duty to protect life, property, and the rule of law.
“The government, which is supposed to defend life, property, and the Constitution, has turned against all three,” he said. “Senior leaders are only making things worse by spinning fairy tales to cover up their complicity.”