Kitui County Senator Enoch Wambua has called on President William Ruto to rescind his controversial call to police officers to shoot protesters in the leg, warning the order could fuel bloodshed and deepen Kenya’s political crisis.

The order, issued on July 9, 2025, came at the height of the Sabasaba protests, which erupted after the death of blogger Albert Ojwang in police custody. Ruto had instructed law enforcement to shoot anyone found attacking businesses “in the leg,” a statement that has triggered public uproar and legal concerns.

“I wish the president would find it in his heart to withdraw the order he gave yesterday about police shooting people in the leg. Those words are an avenue for serious bloodshed in this country. We are only differing politically,” Wambua said during a Senate session on Thursday, July 10, 2025.

He urged the executive to tone down inflammatory rhetoric, warning that presidential statements often influence public and police response.

“We must be careful about the things we say in public. When the president speaks, people will naturally respond. But such exchanges are not good for the country. Kenya needs serious healing and tolerance,” he added.

His remarks come as protests have turned deadly in 17 counties, with growing fears that the shoot-to-injure approach could escalate tensions.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) confirmed a grim toll from the 2025 Saba Saba protests, stating that 31 people were killed, 107 injured, and 532 arrested across the country.

Two cases of enforced disappearances were also documented, along with widespread destruction of property whose value remains undetermined.

His remarks came just a day after President Ruto instructed police to shoot looters and vandals targeting property, but only in the legs. It was in the aftermath of these protests of Saba Saba, June 25 and 17, that Ruto issued a deeply controversial directive.

“Anyone burning down someone else’s business and property should be shot in the legs so that they will pass through the hospital as they go to court. They (the police) should not kill them, but they should hit them and break their legs,” a visibly angry Ruto said while speaking in Nairobi on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.