27 people still missing from anti-Finance Bill protests, lobby groups say

Protesters arrested by anti-riot police on Kenyatta Avenue during the demonstrations. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Three months after the June 25 protests, lobby groups report that 27 people are still missing.

The coalition, which includes Amnesty International, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), Defenders Coalition, the Independent Medico Legal Unit (IMLU), and Medics for Kenya, revealed that of the 67 individuals who went missing, only 40 have been accounted for. 

They presented their findings in Nairobi on Wednesday.

The report also noted that at least 300 people were illegally detained during the protests, with 13 documented disappearances on that day. 

The groups accused the Kenyan police of unlawfully employing both lethal and non-lethal weapons, including tear gas, water cannons, and batons.

Witnesses reported that police fired tear gas at protesters, bystanders, and medics, arbitrarily arrested and assaulted peaceful demonstrators, and discharged live ammunition into crowds.

“The right to protest in Kenya is protected under the constitution. It is unacceptable that, instead of facilitating and protecting protesters, police resorted to using deadly force,” said Irũngũ Houghton, Executive Director of Amnesty International Kenya.

Doctors managing a medical camp during the protests treated at least 300 individuals, including four police officers. They addressed various injuries, including lacerations, breathing difficulties from tear gas inhalation, chemical irritant reactions from high-pressure water cannons, and severe injuries from less lethal weapons.

“Tear gas should never be used against peaceful protesters, and 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, the President of the Law Society of Kenya.

She added; “It should only be used in situations where there is generalised violence, and after clear warnings are given, which evidence confirms, police failed to issue.” 

The report is based on interviews with 23 eyewitnesses, lawyers, and medical professionals, alongside an analysis of over 45 videos and 100 photographs taken in Nairobi on June 25.