27 June, 2025
No fewer tgan16 people have been killed and 400 injured in Kenya as a nationwide demonstration to honour those killed during last year’s anti-government protests turned chaotic, as police clashed with protesters in different parts of the country.
It was reported that the death toll had been verified by the government-funded Kenya national commission on human rights, most of which were killed by police
According to statement from the protesters and others supporting group, 83 people were seriously injured and at least eight people were being treated for gunshot wounds
“We pray for our nation, dialogue and a way forward from the political impasse facing Kenya,” said the statement from the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the Police Reforms Working Group and the Kenya Medical Association.
Thousands of Kenyans stormed the streets in the early hours of Wednesday to pay tribute to more than 60 people who died during last year’s protests, which intensified on 25 June with an attempt to storm parliament while MPs inside passed legislation to raise taxes.
“We face an unfortunate paradox as a country where more lives are being lost as the people seek justice for the lives already lost,” the LSK’s president, Faith Odhiambo, said on X. “Our hearts break for all the victims of the continued trend of police brutality and excesses.”
In the city centre, where many businesses were closed, thousands gathered for the march, waving Kenyan flags and placards with images of victims of last year’s protests.
Others lit street fires and chanted slogans against Ruto. Later, violence ensued, with police firing teargas and water cannon and hitting protesters with batons, while protesters threw stones and other objects.
The planned marches also developed into clashes between civilians and police in the cities of Mombasa, Nakuru and Kisumu and other parts of the country. Protesters torched parts of court buildings in Kikuyu town in Kiambu county.
