At least 16 people died during the June 25 protests on Wednesday, most of them killed by police, the head of Amnesty In
International Kenya said.
This came a year after deadly demonstrations against a tax bill culminated in the storming of parliament.
The protests were called to commemorate the 2024 Finance Bill protests in which more than 60 people were killed. Tension mounted in the city for the better part of Wednesday as police battled with what looked like hardened gangs.
Thousands of Kenyans took to the streets to commemorate last year’s demonstrations, in which more than 60 people died, with police firing tear gas and water cannons to disperse them in different parts of the country.
Some protesters clashed with police, and 16 people were “verified dead as of8:30”,
Amnesty Kenya’s executive director Irungu Houghton told Reuters, adding that the figures were verified by the global rights watchdog and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).
“Most were killed by police,” Houghton said, adding that at least five of the victims had been shot dead.
The government-funded KNCHR earlier said eight deaths had been reported across the country, all “allegedly from gunshot wounds”.
“Over 400 casualties have been reported, including demonstrators, police officers and journalists,” KNCHR said in a statement.
The watchdog noted heavy police deployment 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 by Amnesty Kenya or KNCHR.
State-funded body Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) said in a statement at least 61 people were arrested during the protests.
An official at the capital’s main Kenyatta National Hospital said the facility had received dozens of wounded people.
Large crowds were seen earlier heading in the direction of State House, the president’s official residence, in scenes.
They were mostly university students residing in the nearby hostels.
They were dispersed outside State House Girls.
Isolated clashes were reported in Mombasa with protests also in the towns of Kitengela, Kisii, Matuu, Kikuyu, Thika, Olkalau, Molo, Nakuru and Nyeri.
Although last year’s protests faded after President William Ruto withdrew proposed tax hikes, public anger has remained over the use of excessive force by security agencies, with fresh demonstrations, opens new tab this month over the death of a blogger in police custody.
Six people, including three police officers, were charged with murder on Tuesday over the killing of 31-year-old blogger and teacher, Albert Ojwang. All have pleaded not guilty.
Ojwang’s death has become a lightning rod for Kenyans still mourning those who perished at last year’s demonstrations, blamed on security forces, against a backdrop of dozens of unexplained disappearances.
The unprecedented scenes on June 25, 2024, showing police firing at protesters as they broke through barriers to enter parliament, created the biggest crisis of Ruto’s presidency and sparked alarm among Kenya’s international allies.
Elsewhere, some 26 Nyandarua County government vehicles were torched during Wednesday’s demonstrations.
According to the county government, the vehicles were parked at the Olkalou sub-county offices.
Five of the 16 were grounded in the incident, which also saw 18 county government motorbikes burnt.
The county said newly purchased music equipment was also destroyed in the fire.
Police in Olkalou engaged in running battles with protesters for a large part of Wednesday, lobbing tear gas at crowds of protesters who barricaded roads with stones.
