Nairobi, 27 April 2025: Amnesty International has released the 2024/25 State of the World’s Human Rights Report, documenting human rights violations and a marked shift toward authoritarian practices in 2024.[1] For Kenya, last year saw repeated attempts to infringe upon freedoms and human rights provided for in the Constitution of Kenya. These include the right to protest, freedom of expression, access to health, housing, and protection from violence among others.
The report outlines a sustained crackdown on civil liberties, including the use of excessive and unnecessary force by the National Police Service during the 2024 nationwide protests. At least 65 individuals were killed, 89 forcibly disappeared, and thousands arbitrarily arrested. The government’s response extended beyond physical spaces to the targeting of online dissent through enforced disappearances, arrests, account suspensions, threats and physical violence. These actions created a climate of fear for those expressing public criticism and dissent.
Yesterday’s BBC “Blood Parliament” documentary release[2], now watched by over a million viewers, corroborates our joint 25 September report[3] that unnecessary and excessive lethal and less-lethal force was used against protesters on 25 June 2024. Despite promises by the highest levels of government, state institutions mandated to uphold transparency, accountability, and the rule of law have not led to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for nearly one year since protesters were killed within the parliament premises.
PETITION
Demand a Public Inquiry into the June 25th Shootings in Parliament
On June 25, 2024, thousands of Gen Z protesters gathered peacefully in Nairobi to oppose the Finance Bill 2024, which proposed increased taxes amid rising living costs. Despite the peaceful nature of the protests, the police responded with excessive and unlawful force, leading to tragic outcomes.
Sign the petition now to call for justice and accountability.
We acknowledge the investigations update released yesterday by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and call on the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to urgently release a statement on the status and progress of prosecutions currently underway related to the 25 June protests. The Kenyan public deserves demonstrable evidence that those who have committed serious crimes will be held accountable.
We also call on the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) to submit a comprehensive report to Parliament detailing their deployment, engagement protocols, and overall interventions during the 2024 protests. This obligation is outlined under Article 241(3)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya and Section 31(a) of the Kenya Defence Forces Act, which are critical to restoring public trust in our security institutions.
We demand both the National Police Service and the Kenya Defence Forces to act and publicly state the actions being taken with regard to the findings of the “Blood Parliament” BBC documentary that identifies two state security officers suspected to have killed Erickson Mutisya, David Chege and Eric Shieni.
The Kenya section in the global report also raises concerns about the rising number of women killed in acts of gender-based violence during the year. By the end of 2024, 170 women, nearly double those killed in 2023 and five times those killed in 2016, had been killed because they were women[1]. We call on the Taskforce on Gender Based Violence to recommend and the Gender, Arts, and Heritage Ministry to accelerate a comprehensive set of state interventions to prevent and prosecute such crimes in line with the recommendations of the EndFemicideKE and HumanIsMyID alliances.
The Amnesty International report also documents the impact of forced evictions during heavy rains and flooding in the Mathare and Mukuru Kwa Njenga settlements of Nairobi between March and April 2024. Over 6,000 households were demolished, leaving thousands without shelter in violation of their right to housing. Amnesty International Kenya calls on the government to comply with the High Court order to compensate hundreds of Mathare, Gwa Kairu, Mukuru Kwa Ruben, and Kiamaiko residents who were forcibly evicted without due process from their homes.
We call on the Treasury to hear the voices of Kenyans against the introduction of excessive and punitive taxes and find other ways of reducing the debt deficit including reducing wasteful government expenditure and corruption documented in several reports from the Office of the Auditor General. We also urge parliamentarians not to pass the proposed Assembly and Demonstration Bill (2024) that seeks to restrict the constitutional right to assembly.
Lastly, we call upon Kenyans to continue their demand for public accountability, good governance, human rights and an end to impunity. We urge the government to respect, protect, and fulfil the human rights of all Kenyans and to take immediate steps to reverse the alarming trajectory seen in 2024.
The report is available for download: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/04/global-human-rights-crisis-trump-effect-accelerates-destructive-trends/
Signed
Irũngũ Houghton
Amnesty International KenyaSection Director
For more information and interviews, contact Mathias T. Kinyoda: Mobile at +254723424803, Email: [email protected]
[1] Partners Africa Data Hub provided updated figures in their 2024 report https://www.africadatahub.org/femicide-kenya