Police killed two people in Nairobi’s Kibera slums on Sunday and, therefore, put riot control measures in sharp focus.

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It is our view that the situation in Kibera last Sunday did not warrant the kind of force police employed. Granted, there was evidence that police panicked when a shot was fired from a crowd that was taunting the officers and throwing stones at them.

But the use of live bullets is an old-fashioned and despicable riot control measure that was best used in Apartheid South Africa. Now, it is the preserve of police states and dictatorships.

The barbarity of the force the police used was captured in a picture where a man’s head was blasted open by the force of a G-3 rifle. It was so galling and an image that we could not publish it.

And even if police were to use live bullets, why must it be to kill rather than immobilise? And why use a G3, a gun that would be best used to put down rogue elephants and buffaloes? Why kill? And, again, even if a policeman shot a rioter in the leg with this weapon, it would have to be amputated because the bullet would shatter it to smithereens.

We believe that police have other options to contain and disperse mobs without causing harm or injury or very little if any. For example, lobbing tear gas canisters has worked very well in the past. Mobs in a protest will chant and dance even in the presence of police officers. But the moment a tear gas canister is launched into the air, they flee.

Cordoning off places where the police do not want the marchers to access is another effective way of controlling mobs. In downtown Nairobi where hawkers used to run riot only a few months ago, the presence of police in lorries and riot garb has kept them away.

We in no way support marauding youths who are a law unto themselves and think they can decide who does what in the slums or any other place for that matter.

But even when they riot and attack officers or destroy property, rubber bullets should be the first line of police defence. These do not kill; they immobilise rioters who are a threat to law and order.

And the police have many examples in other parts of the world to learn from. In South Africa — post-Apartheid of course — police use stopper guns, which shoot tear gas and rubber bullets.

When riots escalate, they use vehicles that dispense smoke and tear gas or even barbed wire to cordon off no-go areas for protestors. Tank trucks with water cannons and helicopters that drop water bombs on mobs are other methods.

In the UK, police use plastic shields and rarely carry firearms to control rioting crowds. But when they have to deal with mobs wielding knives, for example, they use a shotgun that fires pellets.

In the US, the use of a baton made of hard wood is the most common riot control measure. Police also deploy in a formation that allows them to push away demonstrators from places where they are unwanted. But if the crowds become unruly, the formations have arrest teams that swing into action.

The long and short of this is that there are modern and better ways of controlling crowds and the Kenya police must adopt them.

They should also train a special team that deals with riots. It is ridiculous to call to arms every red-eyed bully to the streets whenever there is a commotion.