Escalating protests and police violence in Kenya have left at least 39 people dead and hundreds more injured. Image source: Boniface Mwangi, via X.
At least 39 people have been killed and more than 300 injured as anti-government protests continue across Kenya, calling for President William Ruto to resign.
The Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) confirmed the death toll in a statement on 1 July — almost double the figure authorities previously disclosed.
Largely driven by youth-led digital activism, the nationwide protests broke out on 18 June to contest a proposed tax hike.
The government said the tax increases were necessary to pay off Kenya’s public debt of about 10 trillion shillings ($116.2 billion).
Anti-tax rallies took place in the capital Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya’s second-largest city, as well as Kisumu, Nakuru, and Nyeri.
Protesters expressed outrage at Ruto’s government for reneging its promise to lower taxes and ease Kenya’s cost-of-living crisis.
The demonstrations turned violent on 25 June when lawmakers approved the legislation to increase taxes.
Riot police fired live rounds at protesters who attempted to storm parliament after legislators announced the vote.
Ruto withdrew his support for the tax increase the following day.
However, he warned in an interview that the decision to cut the tax bill would force the government to borrow another 7.7 billion USD ($11.5 billion).
Ruto also defended the use of police force and said that “criminals” had hijacked the demonstrations.
In their statement, the KNCHR strongly condemned “the unwarranted violence and force that was inflicted on protesters, medical personnel, lawyers, journalists, and on safe spaces such as churches, medical emergency centres and ambulances”.
Conflict continues to escalate across Kenya — on Tuesday 2 July, Nairobi police launched tear gas grenades and charged into a crowd of protesters.
One protester in Mombasa, Milan Waudo, told Reuters, “People are dying in the streets and the only thing [Ruto] can talk about is money.”
“We are not money. We are people. We are human beings.
“He needs to care about his people, because if he can’t care about his people then we don’t need him in that chair.”
