Belgut MP Nelson Koech’s reckless and shameful remarks calling for “shoot to kill” orders against protesters have sparked anger across the country.
At a time when Kenyans are mourning young lives lost during protests against state brutality, Koech’s words only added fuel to the fire.
As a leader, instead of calling for calm or dialogue, Koech shamelessly pushed for more violence. By encouraging police officers to kill citizens during demonstrations, he exposed not just his ignorance of human rights, but his dangerous thirst for blood.
Such remarks from the chair of the National Assembly’s Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee are not only careless but outright irresponsible.
They insult the intelligence and emotions of grieving families who have already buried innocent youths gunned down during peaceful protests.
When Koech stood before a crowd in Chebirbei and repeated multiple times that the police should “shoot and kill,” he was not just echoing the president’s earlier misjudged statement.
He went a step further, making it clear that in his mind, any protester is a threat deserving death. That is not leadership. That is cruelty. He made it worse by calling those who tried to access State House “criminals” who should be shot on sight.
Belgut MP Nelson Koech during the past day break interview. Photo courtesy/Citizen Digital.
In what law does peaceful assembly become terrorism? Where in the Constitution does it say that entering a protected area makes you an armed threat?
Koech twisted the National Police Service Act to justify barbaric acts. The law does allow police to protect themselves, but it does not give them a blank cheque to murder unarmed citizens.
Koech also dismissed claims that the government hires goons to cause chaos, asking why people complain when the same government uses force against those so-called criminals. This argument is not only shallow, it is insulting.
He conveniently ignored the fact that many Kenyans have provided videos, photos, and eyewitness accounts of plain-clothed individuals destroying property, only for peaceful demonstrators to be blamed.
Koech’s statement that protesters should be charged with terrorism is a dangerous attempt to silence dissent. Labeling Gen Z and other peaceful protesters as terrorists shows just how far Kenya Kwanza is willing to go to silence the truth.
Koech doesn’t see the tears of mothers who’ve lost their children. He doesn’t hear the cries of injured young people or the fear in the hearts of peaceful citizens. All he sees is the need to defend power and please his political bosses.
This country cannot be led by politicians who advocate for mass killings in the name of law and order. Kenyans are not enemies of the state. They are citizens demanding justice, accountability, and respect for life.
If leaders like Koech think that violence is the only way to deal with dissent, then they are part of the very problem Gen Z and other brave Kenyans are rising against.
His remarks deserve outright condemnation and must not go unchallenged. Kenya needs leaders who value life, not politicians who casually joke about ending it.
