Lawsuits pile against the State over atrocities

Police officers keep vigil in Kitengela during Saba Sasa protests, on July 7, 2025. [Collins Oduor, Standard] A growing tide of legal action is sweeping across courts, with the government squarely in the crosshairs over the brutal crackdown on Gen Z protestors. Since June 2024, numerous cases have been filed seeking justice for extra-judicial killings, abductions, torture, and State-sanctioned brutality. Now, the spotlight is on Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and Deputy Inspector-General of Police Eliud Lagat, both named in recent petitions calling for their removal from office. Currently, Murkomen faces two petitions by Reuben Kigame, civil society groups and human rights lawyers demanding the immediate removal of the CS for his alleged incitement of lethal force against protestors. In the first petition, the Katiba Institute, Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), and the Independent Medico-Legal Unit wants the Milimani High Court to declare Murkomen unfit to hold public office, citing what they term as "reckless, unlawful, and unconstitutional" directives. During a tense press briefing on June 25, 2025, during the first anniversary of the Gen Z uprising last year, Murkomen was caught on video urging security forces to "deal decisively" with protestors, adding, "shoot if you must." The remarks drew instant backlash from human rights defenders and protestors alike, many interpreting them as direct shoot-to-kill orders. "This is not rhetoric. When a Cabinet Secretary issues violent instructions, people die," says lawyer Eileen Imbosa in the case. "He must be held personally responsible for the bloodshed that followed." The killing of 25-year-old blogger and Gen Z activist Albert Ojwang' in police custody in June 2025 became a national flashpoint, one that ultimately forced Lagat to step aside. Ojwang' was abducted from his home by plainclothes officers in the middle of the night. Days later, his body was found at the Nairobi Funeral Home bearing signs of torture: broken ribs, deep lacerations, and internal bleeding. An autopsy painted a damning picture of State-sanctioned brutality. Five human rights activist Julius Ogogoh, Khelef Khalifa, Francis Auma, Peter Agoro and Eliud Matindi have since filed a public interest petition calling for Lagat's prosecution and permanent removal from office, citing command responsibility and "wilful concealment of extrajudicial acts." "Albert's death was not an accident. It was the result of a violent policy executed from the top," say the activist According to the activists, the office of the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions and investigative agencies have been compromised and are dragging their feet on the matter. "The investigative and prosecutorial agencies have acted capriciously, corruptly, and in a blatant manner in failing, refusing and declining to investigate and prosecute the Deputy Inspector General of Police ," the court papers state. They argue that private prosecution is the only viable path to justice in the wake of Ojwang's death, which has ignited public outrage and renewed calls for police accountability. Despite mounting evidence, State officials have repeatedly denied wrongdoing. Interior Ministry officials dismissed enforced disappearance claims as "politically motivated," while Inspector General Douglas Kanja stated that "all arrests are lawful and documented." However, more than 14 petitions and inquests have been filed in relation to the Gen Z protests. The Katiba Institute and Law Society of Kenya have filed petitions challenging , illegal arrests, and targeting protesters based on appearance who were wearing black, or carrying water. At the same time an inquest into Rex Kanyike Masai's who was shot by police during a peaceful protest is still with eight witnesses already heard.

Lawsuits pile against the State over atrocities

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