NAIROBI: At least 16 people were killed during protests across Kenya on Wednesday, and most of them were shot by police, according to Amnesty Kenya.
The protests were held to mark one year since deadly demonstrations against a tax bill, during which more than 60 people died.
Crowds took to the streets in several towns, with some clashing with police, who used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons to break them up in the capital, Nairobi, according to local media reports and a Reuters witness.
Some demonstrators clashed with police, and 16 people had been “verified dead as of 8:30am,” Amnesty Kenya’s Executive Director, Irungu Houghton, told Reuters. The global rights watchdog verified the figures along with the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).
“Most were killed by police,” Houghton said, noting that at least five of the victims had been shot dead.
The government-funded KNCHR had earlier stated that eight deaths had been reported nationwide, all “allegedly from gunshot wounds”.
“Over 400 casualties have been reported, including demonstrators, police officers, and journalists,” the KNCHR said in a statement posted on its official X account.
The rights body noted a heavy police presence and “allegations of excessive use of force, including rubber bullets, live ammunition, and water cannons, resulting in numerous injuries”.
Kenyan police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga declined to comment on the statements issued by Amnesty Kenya and KNCHR.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), another state-funded agency, said in a statement that at least 61 people had been arrested during the protests.
A source at the capital’s main Kenyatta National Hospital said the facility had received dozens of wounded individuals.
“107 admitted, most with gunshot injuries,” the source said, referring to both rubber bullets and live rounds. They added that no deaths had been reported at KNH.
Kenya Power, the national electricity provider, said one of its security guards had been shot dead while patrolling its headquarters in Nairobi.
Earlier in the day, large crowds were seen marching towards the State House — the president’s official residence — in scenes broadcast by Kenyan channel NTV. Both NTV and another broadcaster, KTN, were taken off the air after defying an order to halt live coverage of the protests.
The channels resumed broadcasting later on Wednesday after a court in Nairobi suspended the directive issued by the Communications Authority of Kenya.
Anger at police behaviour
Isolated clashes were also reported in Mombasa, according to NTV, with protests in towns including Kitengela, Kisii, Matuu, and Nyeri.
Although last year’s protests subsided after President William Ruto withdrew proposed tax hikes, public anger has lingered over the security forces’ heavy-handed approach. Fresh demonstrations erupted this month over the death of a blogger while in police custody.
Six individuals, including three police officers, were charged with murder on Tuesday in connection with the killing of 31-year-old blogger and teacher Albert Ojwang. All have pleaded not guilty.
Ojwang’s death has struck a nerve with many Kenyans, still mourning those who died in last year’s protests, which were widely blamed on police violence and occurred amid a series of unexplained disappearances.
“We are fighting for the rights of our fellow youths, Kenyans, and the people who died since June 25… we want justice,” protester Lumumba Harmony told Reuters in Nairobi.
The extraordinary scenes of 25 June 2024 — showing police opening fire as protesters breached barriers to storm parliament — marked the most serious crisis of Ruto’s presidency and triggered alarm among Kenya’s international allies.
