Willis Otieno to rogue cops: When the smoke clears, you’ll stand alone
Prominent lawyer Willis Evans Otieno has sparked a heated national conversation after warning police officers and members of the judiciary that no one will protect them from the consequences of abusing power.
In a powerful X post on July 11, 2025, Otieno addressed police officers directly, urging them to rethink the use of lethal force.
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“Dear Police Officers,” he wrote. “Before you pull that trigger… ask yourself one question: Who will stand with you when the smoke clears? Not Ruto. Not Murkomen. Not the IG hiding in press conferences. Not Parliament, which feeds on blood but won’t even pass a motion to feed your family. No one.”
The post comes in the wake of escalating public anger over recent cases of police brutality, including the June 2025 shooting of an unarmed mask vendor, Boniface Kariuki, in Nairobi following the death of a popular blogger, Albert Ojwang’, while in custody.
Also, with the recent comments from President William Ruto on the aftermath of the protests, including the most recent Sabasaba, which was commemorated on July 7, 2025.
Speaking during the commissioning of a police housing project in Nairobi’s Kilimani area on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, the president issued an alarming directive that police should shoot protesters in the leg if caught looting or destroying property.
“Anyone who burns down someone else’s business and property, let them be shot in the leg and go to the hospital as they head to court,” Ruto said. “Yes, let them not kill, but shoot and break the legs. Destroying people’s property is not right.”
Otieno reminded officers that state power is fleeting and that turning weapons on citizens—particularly unarmed students, children, or mothers—does not make them heroes but “criminals with a badge.”
His message resonated with many Kenyans, especially in light of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights’ damning report indicating at least 31 deaths and over 500 injuries during anti-government demonstrations.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has 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.
Otieno did not stop with the police. He also trained his sights on the judiciary, warning rogue judicial officers—whom he called “maligners”—that their time of reckoning is coming.
“I will be on your neck; I have time,” he wrote. “Don’t think that because you have bullets and balaclavas, you are above the law.”
Referencing past injustices, Otieno invoked the 2017 death of six-month-old baby Pendo, who was killed during post-election violence in Kisumu—a case still unresolved.
“Ask the killers of baby Pendo,” he cautioned. “Do not use your illusional powers to settle political scores.”
Otieno has recently intensified his criticism of the political establishment, accusing leaders of using security forces to stifle dissent. In a podcast on July 8, he labelled such actions “crimes against humanity” and vowed to continue holding those in power accountable.
As national tension persists, his words have become a rallying cry for justice and reform, shining a spotlight on state impunity and stirring renewed calls for institutional accountability.
