Report exposes systemic police abuses in 2024 youth protests

Youth during Gen Z protests in Nairobi. [File, Standard]

A new report has exposed widespread human rights violations committed by security forces during the 2024 Gen Z-led protests.

According to the report by the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU), there were 63 deaths, 63 abductions, 26 missing persons, more than 600 injuries, and widespread cases of torture and illegal detention.

“These events did not occur in a vacuum. Rather, they are part of a long-standing pattern in which public dissent is criminalised, and police forces operate as tools of political repression,” read a statement by IMLU.

The report points to systemic flaws on how Kenya manages public order.

“Police violence has become embedded in the architecture of public order management. During the Gen Z protests, law enforcement agencies reportedly ignored de-escalation strategies and instead employed military-style tactics, including the use of live ammunition, rubber bullets, and tear gas,” notes the report.

IMLU documents the increasing use of enforced disappearances and torture being deployed to silence political dissent, tactics which are historically associated with anti-terror operations.

“Individuals were abducted by plainclothes officers driving unmarked vehicles, held incommunicado, and subjected to torture,” the report says.

Speaking during the launch of the report in Nairobi, Faith Odhiambo, president of the Law Society of Kenya, warned that the phenomenon of enforced disappearances represents nothing less than a collapse of the rule of law.

“When someone is taken by State agents, held incommunicado, and denied access to legal process or even knowledge of their whereabouts, we are witnessing a legal and moral crisis,” she said.

According to IMLU, widespread abduction has never been a feature of police impunity in Kenya when dealing with protesters, warning that its emergence in the Gen Z protests marks a new, dangerous chapter.

The report states that out of 298 reported violations, 88 per cent of victims were male. Deaths were overwhelmingly caused by gunshots and blunt force trauma. It notes that IMLU contracted pathologists conducted 48 autopsies; 47 male victims and one female, including a 12-year-old child.

Seven victims died from multiple organ injuries, four from haemorrhagic shock, and others from asphyxiation, head trauma, and internal bleeding.

According to IMLU, the killings were not random; they represented deliberate targeting of protest participants.

The report lays blame on the failure of the State to enforce command accountability. IMLU notes that while a few junior police officers have faced trial, such as in the case of lawyer Willie Kimani, most senior officials remain untouched.

“The doctrine of command responsibility, though enshrined in Kenyan law via the International Crimes Act of 2011, remains largely underutilized,” the report notes.

Issack Hassan, chairperson of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, acknowledged the rising concerns by the members of the public.

He revealed that since the death of Albert Ojwang on June 8, more than 24 additional deaths in police custody have been reported, raising fresh concerns about impunity within the police service.