William Ruto: No Kenyan should die for criticising government

President William Ruto giving his address during Katiba @16 at KICC.[PCS]

President William Ruto has said no Kenyan should lose their life, liberty or dignity for criticising the Government, expressing an unpopular opinion or taking part in a peaceful demonstration.

Speaking during the 16th Katiba Day Symposium on Thursday, August 27, at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, as the country marked 16 years of the Constitution, Ruto acknowledged the lingering pain from past crackdowns on dissent.

"I recognise the pain that remains from the events of that period," Ruto said, adding, “Some families lost loved ones. Serious allegations were made concerning unlawful arrests, enforced disappearances and the excessive use of lethal force."

According to Ruto, the country cannot honour the Constitution by looking away from such allegations.

Every credible allegation of a human  rights violation must be investigated independently, thoroughly and transparently, he added.

"Where wrongdoing is established, those responsible must be held accountable in accordance with the law," Ruto noted.

The President said the Constitution protects peaceful and unarmed assembly but does not shield arson, looting, lawlessness, violence, intimidation, attacks on citizens or destruction of property.

"We must therefore distinguish carefully between a citizen exercising a constitutional right and an individual committing a criminal offence," he observed.

"We must neither criminalise an entire protest because of the actions of a few nor legitimise criminal conduct merely because it occurs in the course of a protest," he added.

Ruto's remarks come as rights groups report an uneven accountability record.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights says at least 63 people died and 74 were forcibly disappeared during the 2024 protests, with 26 still missing.

The Missing Voices Coalition recorded 131 cases of police killings and enforced disappearances in 2025, down from 159 in 2024, though police killings themselves rose 20 per cent even as disappearances fell sharply.