Three months after widespread anti-government protests in Kenya, Amnesty International is set to present a petition on Wednesday calling for the establishment of a commission to investigate the deaths of numerous individuals resulting from “the use of unlawful police force.”
This follows a gathering on Tuesday where grieving mothers of protesters assembled outside the Department of Justice to submit a list of those who lost their lives during the protest movement that took place from June to August.
“All we want from our government is justice,” said Caroline Mutisya, 49, who lost her son Erikson Kyalo.
“We want all police officers who killed people to be arrested,” she said.
Rights groups report that over 60 people lost their lives during weeks of protests, initially triggered by a finance bill proposing tax increases, with more individuals disappearing in the weeks that followed.
What began as peaceful, youth-led demonstrations against the contentious tax hikes quickly escalated into broader protests against President William Ruto and what many perceive as excessive government spending and corruption.
Amnesty International’s petition coincides with the three-month anniversary of the most dramatic protest day, June 25, when demonstrators stormed the parliament building in Nairobi.
Based on video footage and testimonies from eyewitnesses, lawyers, and medical professionals, AI claims that police unlawfully used lethal force against peaceful protesters, resulting in the deaths of at least six individuals that day.
“The right to protest in Kenya is protected under the constitution. It is unacceptable that, rather than facilitating and protecting protesters, police resorted to using deadly force,” said Irungu Houghton, head of Amnesty International Kenya.
Police fired tear gas grenades “directly at protesters, sometimes at head-level,” said Amnesty, adding that tear gas had been fired into at least two medical tents.
“Isolated acts of violence do not justify the use of tear gas since it has a wide area effect. Under no circumstances should it be fired directly at individuals,” said Faith Odhiambo, president of the Law Society of Kenya, in the Amnesty report.
AI stated that it has identified specific rifles, submachine guns, and shotguns utilised by the police. It also mentioned that many police officers were not in uniform and were using unmarked vehicles.
According to the group, the footage shows individuals in plain clothes shooting at protesters multiple times, with many of the protesters having their hands up.
The Law Society of Kenya has reported that numerous protesters were unlawfully detained during and after the protests, and a significant number of them are still missing.
Amnesty International’s report includes an account of a protester who lost consciousness inside the parliament building and later found himself in a dark room guarded by two men. He was questioned about the funding of the protests and was then blindfolded, driven, and left on a roadside in Nairobi.
“What we want to see now is action,” said Hussein Khalid of rights group VOCAL Africa at Tuesday’s protest.
“Kenyans cannot be dying left right and centre, killed by the same bullets that they pay for as taxpayers.”