Anti-tax protests pose legitimacy test to Kenya Kwanza

Protestors take cover as anti-riot police use water canons to disperse them during the anti-tax protests on June 20, 2024. [Denis Kibuchi, Standard]

Rex Masai should not have been killed. May his soul rest in peace, and may his family find strength during this difficult time. His death, after reportedly being shot by a plainclothes policeman, was a tragic development in the ongoing protests against the Finance Bill. It was also a reminder that the Kenya Police Service is stuck in autocratic mode. The widespread brutalization of protestors was bad enough. That one of them allegedly killed Masai is beyond the pale.

Masai's murder presents a clear moral test to the government. First, his family and the general public deserve a swift investigation and punishment of those responsible. Protesting is a constitutional right. State agents should not casually murder protestors. In addition to the question of individual responsibility, there also must be an institutional reckoning within the Police Service. In better-run jurisdictions, by now the head of the Service should have tendered his resignation.