William Ruto accuses protesters of terrorism and violence two days after 31 people killed in anti-government demonstrations

Kenya’s president, William Ruto, has ordered police to shoot protesters targeting businesses in the legs, in a sharp intensification of his rhetoric days after 31 people were killed in nationwide anti-government demonstrations.

“They shouldn’t kill them but they should shoot their legs so they break and they can go to hospital on their way to court,” Ruto said in the capital, Nairobi.

In his toughest remarks yet about the wave of protests over economic stagnation, corruption and police brutality that have swept the east African country, he also accused his political opponents of orchestrating the demonstrations and said some of those out on the streets were waging a “war” on the state.

“Those who attack our police, those who attack our security men and women, those who attack our security installations, including police stations, that is a declaration of war, that is terrorism,” he said. “We are going to deal with you firmly. We cannot have a nation that is run by terror. We cannot have a nation that is governed by violence.