Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has announced that the government will support police officers who are sued for using live ammunition in self-defence during protests. Speaking during a visit to the Kikuyu Law Courts, which were recently torched amid nationwide anti-government demonstrations, Murkomen emphasized that officers acting within the law will not be abandoned by the state.
“Any officer who will be sued for using a gun to defend himself, a police station, Parliament, or a court, we will not cooperate with anybody who wants to punish police officers who have done their jobs,” he said. “We will hire lawyers for any police officer who will be sued.”
Murkomen was accompanied by Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo and Deputy Inspector General of the Administration Police, Gilbert Masengeli, among other senior officials. The Cabinet Secretary stressed that while the state will defend officers, the move is not a blanket endorsement for misuse of firearms.
“But don’t use this as an excuse to go around shooting people,” he warned, urging officers to always operate within the confines of police standing orders.
In a separate event in Kitui, Murkomen addressed growing public concern over a perceived “shoot-to-kill” directive. He clarified that police officers are guided by the National Police Service Act of 2011, which allows the use of firearms only under specific circumstances—such as self-defence, protecting others from harm, or preventing the escape of a felon.
“All police officers understand how to use a firearm,” he said. “It is clearly provided for in the law. No officer is untrained on this.”
Murkomen criticized what he termed as undue public sympathy for criminals, referencing the recent theft of firearms from Dagoretti Police Station. He warned that weapons in the wrong hands pose a serious threat to families and businesses.
“This is not a license for recklessness,” he asserted, reiterating that the use of force must always remain necessary, proportionate, and lawful. His remarks come at a time of heightened tension over police conduct during protests that have swept across the country.
