Kenyan government acknowledges deaths, missing persons, arrests in anti-government protests

NAIROBI, Kenya

The Kenyan government, for the first time, has officially acknowledged the fatalities and disappearances linked to anti-government protests that have swept the country in recent months.

Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki told the National Assembly Committee on Thursday that 42 people were killed, 132 missing, and 1,208 others arrested during the protests.

Protests erupted across Kenya in June and July over tax increases in the Finance Bill 2024, killing at least 50 people, according to the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and other officials.

President William Ruto’s administration faced intense scrutiny for how it handled the protests, which also caused widespread property damage.

"There were 42 cases of people who lost their lives during the Gen-Z demonstrations, a total of 1,208 people were arrested countrywide during the demonstrations, and most of the cases are still pending before court for various charges," Kindiki told the committee, emphasizing the government's commitment to holding those responsible for violence accountable, regardless of affiliation.

He added that 132 people have gone missing, as reported by police stations across the country.

"Myself and the president himself, have made it clear that this administration does not condone abductions or extrajudicial killings or enforced disappearances," according to him.

On extrajudicial killings of protesters, the interior minister was quick to defend authorities who shot at them, saying some cases were justified, citing the case in which thousands of protesters stormed and torched a section of parliament building in Nairobi.

“If police never used lethal force during the invasion of parliament, we would never have a Kenya like we have today,” he added.

The protests in Kenya, which began in June, were sparked by public dissatisfaction with rising living costs and Ruto’s controversial tax policies.

Protests in the major towns of Nairobi, Kisumu, and Mombasa were some of the most intense, with citizens taking to the streets to demand economic reforms, which later evolved into protests calling for Ruto's resignation.

The government's admission comes amid mounting pressure from civil society organizations and human rights groups, who have been calling for transparency on the number of casualties and missing persons during the protests.

In July 2024, the president made a dramatic move by dissolving almost his entire Cabinet in response to widespread protests against his administration's proposed tax increases.

Following this, Ruto removed all Cabinet Secretaries except Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, citing the need for a "broad-based government" to restore trust and improve governance.

This reshuffle also coincided with a meeting between Ruto and the then-opposition leader Raila Odinga, which fueled speculation about a potential power-sharing arrangement.

The protests, sparked by tax increases in the Finance Bill 2024, swept across Kenya in June and July, leading to the deaths of at least 50 people, according to the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and other authorities.