By Legal Analyst
NAIROBI, Kenya (IP).
The fatal shooting of Boniface Kariuki, allegedly by security officers, has once again raised urgent legal and moral questions about the use of force by state agents in Kenya.
Under both Kenyan law and international human rights standards, officers who use unlawful lethal force against civilians are individually criminally liable—regardless of orders received or rank held.
Article 26 of the Constitution of Kenya guarantees the right to life, while Article 29 affirms the right to freedom and security of the person.
These protections cannot be overridden by informal directives or emergency doctrines.
The law is clear: no civilian may be subjected to extrajudicial killing, and no protester—armed or unarmed—can be lawfully executed without due process.
The National Police Service Act strictly regulates the use of force, requiring it to be necessary, proportionate and used only as a last resort.
The Penal Code, particularly Section 203, defines murder as the unlawful killing of another human being with malice aforethought.
Officers involved in Kariuki’s death could face such charges if the use of force is determined to be unjustified.
Importantly, any defense that an officer was “just following orders” does not hold under Kenyan law or international instruments such as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Orders to shoot civilians—when no immediate threat to life exists—are manifestly unlawful. Executing such orders amounts to complicity in a criminal act.
Security forces must understand that by accepting and carrying out such illegal instructions, they assume full legal responsibility for the outcomes.
No official mandate can erase that liability. Convictions for extrajudicial killings can carry life sentences and, in some instances, expose officers to prosecution even decades later.
There is also a broader legal and political warning here: persistent patterns of excessive force and state violence erode public trust, breed resentment, and ignite cycles of resistance.
Attempts to govern through fear and suppression often backfire. When regimes change, records are reopened, inquiries are launched, and perpetrators are held to account—regardless of time passed or status at the time of the offense.
True authority stems not from coercion but from fidelity to the Constitution and the rule of law.
No administration can sustain legitimacy if it turns weapons against its own people.
A government that aspires to peace and stability must uphold justice—not just in word, but in deed.
Justice for Boniface Kariuki is not a request. It is a constitutional imperative and a moral necessity.
Ends.
