US report accuses Kenyan authorities of extrajudicial killings during 2024 protests » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 14 – The United States has accused Kenyan security forces of committing multiple extrajudicial killings during 2024, particularly in the wake of nationwide “Gen Z” demonstrations against proposed tax increases in June and July.

In its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2024, the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor says there were “numerous reports” of arbitrary and unlawful killings by government agents during the protests, which were largely driven by youth anger over economic policies.

Citing findings by local and international human rights groups, the report details allegations that excessive and unlawful police actions — including shootings, beatings, and tear gas suffocation — resulted in the deaths of protesters.

“The government-mandated Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) recorded 60 deaths during the protests,” the report released on August 12 says in part.

In September, the Interior Ministry’s cabinet secretary told a parliamentary committee that 42 persons lost their lives during the protests.

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) announced it was investigating 50 deaths and 199 injuries, noting that police deployed hooded, masked officers in civilian clothes, concealed badges, and used unmarked vehicles.

IPOA released a monitoring report in early September but had not issued its final findings by year’s end.

A November report by Human Rights Watch alleged a multi-agency team was behind some of the killings.

NGOs claimed the true death toll was likely higher, particularly in informal settlements, due to underreporting and alleged government suppression of information. Media outlets reported that police and medical staff were instructed not to disclose protest-related fatalities.

The report also highlighted other incidents of violence in 2024, including terrorist attacks by al-Shabaab in Mandera County and mob killings in rural areas, underscoring what it called a “deterioration in the human rights situation” in Kenya.

While the Kenyan government took steps to investigate certain cases, the US report says impunity remained a problem “at all levels,” with no accountability for security officers implicated in abuses during the protests.

The annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – the Human Rights Report – cover the status of internationally recognized human rights and worker rights.

The U.S. Department of State submits reports on all countries receiving assistance and all United Nations member states to the U.S. Congress in accordance with the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Trade Act of 1974.