Kenya charges 37 arrested at anti-government protests with terrorism

NAIROBI, KENYA - JULY 7: Kenyan forces take precautions as people held a pro-democracy demonstrations demanded accountability, justice and reform from the government on the anniversary of Saba Saba Day. [AFP]

Kenya will press terrorism charges against 37 people arrested at deadly anti-government protests in late June, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Initially held to mark a year since massive youth-led demonstrations against tax rises erupted in the east African country, the protests descended into chaos as young men clashed with police.

In the wake of the demonstrations, Kenya's police said that they had arrested 485 people for murder, terrorism and rape, among other charges, adding that on June 30 there were 37 people still under active investigation.

"The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has approved and filed terrorism charges against 37 individuals arraigned at the Kahawa Law Courts," on the outskirts of the capital Nairobi, the prosecutor's office said.

In a statement on X, the DPP said that the accused had damaged public buildings, with hundreds of businesses in Nairobi's commercial district destroyed in the unrest.

"The prosecution reiterated that there is no malice in prosecuting the suspects and that the charges are not targeted at demonstrators but at individuals who allegedly chose to engage in acts of terrorism and destruction," the DPP added.

The suspects will be detained until July 10, when the court will rule on their appeal against the terror charges, according to the DPP.

Anger over the state of the economy and police brutality has sparked wave after wave of demonstrations since President William Ruto took power in 2022.

Planned tax rises, which were strongly criticised by the country's disenfranchised youth, led to weeks of protests in June and July 2024, which were harshly repressed by the police.

Rights organisations accused the police of being responsible for the dozens of demonstrator deaths as well as a spate of forced disappearances.

In the days following the June demonstrations, the government compared them to an "attempted coup", while protesters accused the authorities of paying armed vandals to discredit their movement.

Fresh marches on Monday led to the deaths of at least 10 people, according to the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).