The National Assembly Defence Committee chairperson, Nelson Koech, claims that the police should actually "shoot to kill" and not "shoot to injure," as suggested by President William Ruto, goons who try to infiltrate protected areas during protests.
Speaking during a public gathering on Thursday, June 10, the Belgut lawmaker claimed that the police should use their firearms to dispense maximum force against "criminals" who dare to compromise the security of key government infrastructures, such as Parliament and the State House.
The MP further said that the police should use their weapons to protect themselves in a situation where their lives or that of Kenyans is in danger, as stipulated in the constitution. "I want to appreciate the president for what he did, but he said that the police should shoot but not kill, but I would like to say that the police should shoot to kill, because there is no way a police officer should just wait for someone to come and threaten him and his family and tell me that you can't shoot to kill," Koech said.
Belgut MP Nelson Koech during deliberations on the 2025 Budget Policy Statement (BPS) and the Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy (MTDS) in Kiambu County on February 3, 2025.
