The shoot-to-kill order issued by Deputy President William Ruto against bandits in Baringo is an admission of government's failure to deal with insecurity.
Thirdway Alliance Kenya Party leader
Ekuru Aukot said the
directive by the DP is "primitive and shows lack of leadership skills".
“He is not worth it. I think we should dismiss that with the contempt it deserves. Shoot-to-kill directive is very savagery. It is an admission that government has actually failed,” said Aukot.
He spoke on Saturday at a press conference in Mombasa after meeting Party members to strategize on its presidential campaigns.
DP Ruto issued the order on Friday while addressing residents in Baringo county, where 10 people have been killed in the last 10 days.
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Shortly after the order, Thomas Rutto, a chief who was among officials providing security for the DP was shot dead after bandits engaged security officials in a shootout.
Aukot said the government has ignored the rule of law in dealing with insecurity.
He said there is no such thing as cattle rustling and that perceived rustlers are mere robbers who use violence to rob and should be sentenced to death through the legal process and not shot on the spot.
“When you take away the wealth of a nomadic pastoralist for example, which are his cows, camels and the rest, using the barrel of a gun, what this country has done for the last 54 years is to describe that as cattle rustling", he said.
“That is actually robbery with violence which comes with commissions of other crimes like murder, manslaughter and destruction of property,” said Aukot.
“We think government must make efforts to arrest criminals and give Kenyans security,” said Aukot.
The government is disassociated from the concerns of the people.
“I come from that region where the sound of a gun is like breakfast, lunch and dinner. We are used to those kinds of things because for many years we have not had a government that is responsive enough,” said Aukot.
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