{"id":117872,"date":"2025-07-10T12:03:38","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T12:03:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/07\/10\/nelson-koech-says-looters-should-be-shot-dead-not-in-the-leg-statement-sparks-gen-z-backlash\/"},"modified":"2025-07-10T12:03:38","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T12:03:38","slug":"nelson-koech-says-looters-should-be-shot-dead-not-in-the-leg-statement-sparks-gen-z-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/nelson-koech-says-looters-should-be-shot-dead-not-in-the-leg-statement-sparks-gen-z-backlash\/","title":{"rendered":"Nelson Koech Says Looters Should Be Shot Dead, Not in the Leg\u2014Statement Sparks Gen Z Backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>NAIROBI, Kenya \u2013 July 10<\/strong> \u2014 National Assembly Defence Committee Chairperson Nelson Koech has sparked public outrage after calling on police to \u201cshoot to kill\u201d protesters who attempt to storm protected areas or destroy property\u2014openly contradicting President William Ruto\u2019s directive to avoid using lethal force.<\/p>\n<p>Koech said police should not aim to injure, but rather use maximum force against what he termed as \u201ccriminals\u201d and \u201cterrorists\u201d threatening the security of the State.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe President said \u2018shoot but not kill.\u2019 I want to say it here: shoot to kill. These are not innocent people\u2014they\u2019re criminals storming Parliament and businesses. They should be treated as terrorists,\u201d Koech declared.<\/p>\n<p>His remarks mirror a similar hardline stance taken by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, who last week ordered police to \u201cshoot and kill\u201d any protesters who come near police officers or government installations.<\/p>\n<p>Murkomen\u2019s comments provoked national uproar and have since landed him in court, with human rights defenders filing a petition against him for allegedly inciting police brutality and violating constitutional protections.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking Wednesday, Koech defended his position by citing the Police Act, saying it gives officers the legal right to use their weapons if their lives\u2014or those of the public\u2014are under threat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy should a police officer wait to be harmed? If someone threatens State House or Parliament, they\u2019re not a protester\u2014they\u2019re a criminal,\u201d he said.<br \/>\u201cThis \u2018one-term\u2019 talk should stop. Kibaki served two terms. Uhuru served two. We will serve two terms too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Koech further alleged that some individuals were sponsoring chaos and insisted that the government would apprehend those responsible for destruction of property and loss of lives during protests.<\/p>\n<p>His comments come after President Ruto, while launching the Police Housing Project at Kilimani Police Station, directed police to shoot looters and violent protesters in the leg rather than killing them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnyone storming someone\u2019s business or a police station should be shot in the leg\u2014then taken to court,\u201d the President said, calling for restraint.<\/p>\n<p>Monday\u2019s Saba Saba protests left at least 31 people dead and 63 injured, according to the National Police Service. More than 560 people were arrested in connection with the demonstrations, which were largely led by Gen Z youth calling for good governance, justice, and an end to police brutality.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NAIROBI, Kenya \u2013 July 10 \u2014 National Assembly Defence Committee Chairperson Nelson Koech has sparked public outrage after calling on police to \u201cshoot to kill\u201d protesters who attempt to storm protected areas or destroy property\u2014openly contradicting President William Ruto\u2019s directive to avoid using lethal force. Koech said police should not aim to injure, but rather [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117872\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}