After the tragic events of June 25, which left dozens of young Kenyans killed and hundreds injured in front of parliament and across the country, President William Ruto addressed the nation.
The country's security forces, in a grave violation of human rights, killed these young people who were exercising their constitutional right to a peaceful protest.
Others were arrested, beaten, sustained gunshot wounds, or were abducted by armed men in plainclothes.
However, Ruto, in his address to the nation, appeared to downplay the severity of the atrocities and gross human rights violations committed against Kenyans.
He also seemed to justify why the members of parliament ignored Kenyans' pleas to reject the punitive finance bill by thanking them for passing it.
Even though he announced that he would withdraw the punitive finance bill, Ruto must take responsibility for all the atrocities committed during the protests.
In this statement, we highlight some ways Ruto downplayed the tragedy that struck the nation and avoided taking responsibility for his commission and omission
Deaths
During this address, Ruto alleged that "six people lost their lives". Ruto’s statement was intended to downplay the tragedy that struck the nation when police opened fire and killed innocent and peaceful protesters opposing the bill.
The Police Reforms Working Group-Kenya (PRWG-K) reported a nationwide death toll of 23 due to police shootings as of the evening of June 25. These deaths occurred this week alone, excluding the two fatalities recorded last week. Similarly, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), a state body, reported that police killed 22 people nationwide.
Injuries
Ruto further claimed that only 214 people were injured during the tax protests. However, PRWG-K and KNCHR data indicate that the police injured 300 protesters, 86 more than Ruto's figure.
Arrests
Still, Ruto did not disclose the number of protesters arrested by the police during protests, merely stating that "all were processed and released" to avoid backlash over the regime’s misconduct. The Independent Medical Legal Unit (IMLU) reported that police unlawfully arrested 98 people. Of these, 56 were bailed out by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), and the Defenders Coalition, while the police released the rest unconditionally. During last week's protests, police arrested 385 people, who were later released unconditionally.
Enforced disappearances
Between June 21 and June 25, security agencies abducted 22 people, according to PRWG. Ruto omitted the number of abductions in his speech. The number of abductees could be higher, as PRWG-K is verifying two more possible abductions reported after Ruto’s address. According to LSK President Faith Odhiambo, on June 26 and 27, respectively, Nyamweya Oginga and Regis Wanjala were abducted, reportedly connected to the tax protests.
Ruto underreported the number of deaths and injuries and failed to provide accurate figures on arrests and enforced disappearances. This is tantamount to avoiding accountability for the actions of the security agencies.
Illegal KDF deployment
When Ruto spoke, he did not announce the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) withdrawal from the streets despite their illegal deployment. The law requires National Assembly approval for such deployments, but Defense Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale deployed the military on June 25 and sought MPs' approval a day later.
Even if Duale had followed the law, deploying the KDF to harm Kenyans is immoral, unacceptable, and unnecessary. This misuse of the military follows a pattern; Duale deployed the KDF on February 15, 2023, to fight banditry in the North Rift without parliament’s approval.
Access to information
In violation of Article 35 of the Kenyan constitution, the regime responded to these peaceful protests with misinformation, false accusations, and limited access to public information about the casualties.
'Withdrawal' of Finance Bill, 2024
The Finance Bill, 2024 and its subsequent passage fueled protests. Ruto, however, failed to follow Article 115 of Kenya’s constitution when he announced that he and government-allied MPs had "agreed to withdraw the bill." Ruto’s statement usurped the legislative process. Despite claiming to have withdrawn the bill, Ruto was the first to thank MPs for passing it, indicating a lack of commitment to listening to Kenyans' concerns.
We, therefore, demand the following:
- Ruto must take political responsibility for all the atrocities committed under his leadership during the protests.
- The regime must ensure police atrocities that have caused deaths and injuries cease.
- Those accountable for the atrocities against peaceful protesters, including Inspector-General of Police Japhet Koome, Director of Criminal Investigation Mohamed Amin, former Nairobi Police Commander Adamson Bungei, and all police commanders in areas where atrocities took place, must face prosecution. Individual police officers involved must also be held accountable under the law.
- The regime must uphold freedom of expression and assembly, ensuring that Kenyans can protest peacefully without facing police brutality, as Article 37 of the Kenyan Constitution guarantees.
- The regime must cover medical expenses and psychosocial support for injured protesters. It should also bear the burial costs for those who lost their lives during the protests.
- Any protesters still in unlawful police custody due to arrest or abduction must be released.
- MPs must reject the Finance Bill, 2024, per Article 115 of the constitution.
- The regime must provide full redress to all individuals harmed by police violence during the protests, in line with the UN guiding basic principles and guidelines on the right to remedy and reparations.
- KDF must immediately return to the barracks, and arbitrary deployments must cease. CS Duale must be relieved of public duty for violating the law.
- The Commission and Administrative Justice must ensure unfettered access to information. KNCHR should continue to document and respond to human rights abuses.
- To ensure a guarantee of non-repeat, the regime must adhere to Article 4 (2) of the Constitution, affirming Kenya as a multi-party democratic state founded on national values and principles of governance in Article 10.
