President William Ruto has spoken about police brutality and killings that happened to some Gen Z Protesters during the Finance Bill protests, claiming that he has no blood on his hands.
Speaking during a round table discussion with top media house representatives at statehouse, President Ruto said that the country has lost property worth Ksh2.4 billion.
“I have no blood in my hands. 19 people to the record that I have from the security agencies are dead. Very unfortunate. As a democracy, that should not be part of our conversation. 2.4 billion of the property had been destroyed.”
President Ruto however said that criminals have infiltrated the peaceful protests and used the opportunity to cause atrocities such as burning down a section of the Parliament Buildings.
“I am telling every parent, I have kids like they do and I care when there are issues in town where criminals can take advantage of situations and create a situation where the police have to use rubber bullets and live bullets in some cases because that is what an independent police service has to do.”
While admitting that children were shot during the protests, the President assured families of those who died during the protests that investigations into the incidents were underway and that a full report will be made public.
“When I came into office I said there would be no extrajudicial killing in Kenya and I have made sure that there is no extrajudicial killing in Kenya. It is true that children got into situations where they became victims of the demonstrations.”
President Ruto also refuted claims that Alfred Keter was abducted and instead said that it was a normal arrest and that the police are operating independently without “orders from above”