Interior CS Onesmus Kipchumba Murkomen is the subject of calls for travel bans to the United States and the European Union after the Geneva-based Institute for Human Rights accused him of endorsing shoot-to-kill orders.
According to the Geneva Convention to which Kenya has been a signatory shoot-to-kill orders are an arbitrary human rights violation.
During protests the Kenyan Interior CS in a reaction to an alleged torching of a police station in the outskirts of Nairobi issued police with the shoot-to-kill order. He would later qualify his statement as guiding the police to enforce self-defense but an incriminating video footage had already gone viral.
The Institute for Human Rights in Geneva through its Spokesperson David Koros now want Kipchumba Murkomen barred from travel to the West for standing in flagrant disregard and violating the rights of Kenyan citizens to peaceful assembly and demonstration.
The Kenyan Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has confirmed that 16 people died from being shot by police during the June 25,2025 commemoration demos. Already legal steps have been taken to remove the CS from office through court order while a handful of politicians mull over impeachment.
Shoot-to-kill orders can be considered arbitrary and potentially violate international human rights law, including the Geneva Conventions, if they target civilians or non-combatants. The Geneva Conventions and international human rights law provide frameworks for evaluating the legitimacy of shoot-to-kill orders. However, the specific context and circumstances surrounding such orders would ultimately determine their compliance with international law.
So far Murkomen and his confidante Kapsaret MP Oscar Kipchumba Sudi have shown no remorse on the shoot-to-kill order and have instead made statements trying to justify its execution.
Leave a Reply