CS Murkomen clarifies 'shoot to kill' order amid public uproar

On Thursday, June 26, shortly after delivering a media briefing on the state of the country in the wake of the Gen Z protests, which he described as an attempted coup, Murkomen instructed the police to shoot anyone who attempts to approach a police station.

"Na tumeambia polisi mtu yeyote atakaribia police station piga yeye risasi," Murkomen said.

In a statement on Saturday, the CS explained that his remarks were made with the provisions of law in mind.

He cited the Sixth Schedule of the National Police Service Act, which dictates the conditions for use of firearms by a police officer, including to protect lives or property or self-defence. 

"My statement was made contextually and consciously with clarity of mind based on the express provisions of the law. No leader, scholar, jurist, journalist, blogger, or opinion shaper has challenged me on the law," Murkomen noted. 

"At my age, position, and experience, I cannot utter statements that are not supported by the Constitution and the law. Throughout my career, I have never, in my conduct or utterances, found myself on the wrong side of the law."

The CS also stated that he doesn't have the authority to instruct the Police Inspector General or the National Police Service to carry out any actions outside the boundaries of the law. 

"I ask all those who are spreading misinformation, disinformation, and fake news to challenge me on the law. Those who are saying I issued an order to the police should show where the order is. A mere restatement of the law as it exists cannot amount to giving an order to the police," the CS remarked. 

"The Police are mandated by law to operate within the constitutional framework, the statutes, and the departmental standing orders. In any case, I have no constitutional powers to give such orders; instead, I have a duty to support the police and to formulate policy recommendations to aid the application of law in the enforcement of law and order." 

He pointed out that police officers have been given the Constitutional mandate to defend themselves against rioters who threaten their lives. 

"Our police officers who are attacked by robbers, rioters, and arsonists—who have torched police stations, stolen rifles, burnt suspects alive, and burnt property worth millions of shillings, including courts —cannot be left helpless when they have been given the authority by the Constitution and the law to defend themselves, the citizens, and their property. " 

Murkomen's shoot-to-kill order had elicited uproar from the Law Society of Kenya which termed the remarks as reckless and warned that it could fuel extrajudicial killings.