Human rights groups claim 23 killed during Tuesday demos

Anti-Finance Bill protestors flee from ant riot police near Parliament buildings on Tuesday, June 26,2024. [Collins Kweyu,Standard]

Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and Police Reforms Working Group (PRWG) said 23 people were been killed by police across the country.

They said another 100 are nursing gunshot injuries in the anti-Finance Bill 2024 demonstrations held on Tuesday.

President William  Ruto speaking earlier today, however, said that only six were killed during the protests.

They also asked President Ruto to refrain from assenting to the Finance Bill and instead seek to address the issues affecting Kenyans.

The two condemned police for their brutality on young demonstrators, who were unarmed in the name of protecting the Parliament from destruction.

“Between 7 am and 6pm on Tuesday, the Police Reforms Working (PRWG) recorded 23 deaths across the country, caused by police fire, arrested over 53 innocent people at night and abducted over 17 more. At least 100 more are nursing gunshot wounds,” said KHRC Executive Director David Malombe.

The two bodies held a joint media briefing at KHGRC offices in Nairobi on the day the world marks International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

They said their data was collected through by monitoring teams they set up.

The working group also accused President Ruto over the deaths.

“Ruto has overseen a planned and executable massacre against peaceful protesters who came out across the country to peacefully reject the punitive Finance Bill, 2024,” said Malombe.

He added: "Responsibility lies squarely with Ruto, even though he was not presently on the street. He cannot escape accountability. Adamson Bungei, the immediate former Nairobi Police Commander, is equally liable.”

They faulted President Ruto over his claims that protestors entry to Parliament was treasonous.

They also condemned the Githurai killings, where they alleged police shot at least 30 innocent people in their homes.

“There is nothing that justifies the use of live bullets on protesters. But this regime positioned snipers to shoot and kill unarmed protesters,” said Wambue Kawive, deputy chief executive officer at Inuka Trust.

They termed Cabinet Secretary for Defense Aden Duale’s gazettement of Kenya Defense Forces(KDF) on Tuesday evening to deal with protesters as a total illegality since Parliament had not approved it as per the law.

“The CS gazetted the deployment of KDF before approval by National Assembly, which is an illegality already. Even if they approved today, it’s still an illegality already because he first gazetted it before the MPs approved it, its first approval then gazettement and not vice versa,” added Kawive.

The Parliament approved the deployment today, but the High Court suspended it.

The two groups said Kenyans were just exercising their democratic right to protest, associate, assemble and picket as per Article 37 of the constitution and should not have been killed.

“This organised movement has shown us the way that Kenyans can voice their concerns. This is a constitution provision as per Constitution 2010,” said Wangeci Kahuria, executive director, Independent Medico Legal Unit(IMLU)

She added: “Article 1 of the Kenya’s Constitution says all sovereign power belongs to the people. When Kenyans poured on the streets in numbers, they took back their powers as per the law.”

CRECO Kenya executive director Joshua Changwony told off politicians including government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura for using his X account to claim that the protests that took place in over 60 towns in the country over Finace Bill 2024 were funded by external forces.