The United States has voiced deep concern over what it calls a sharp decline in Kenya’s human rights situation in 2024, citing widespread abuses during last year’s youth-led “Gen Z” protests against proposed tax hikes.
In its latest Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the U.S. Department of State accused President William Ruto’s administration of unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and curbs on press freedoms. The protests in June and July 2024, initially sparked by the contentious Finance Bill, escalated into nationwide anti-government demonstrations after Ruto withdrew the legislation.
According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), 60 people died during the unrest, while the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) recorded 50 deaths and 199 injuries, blaming excessive police force. The U.S. report alleges arbitrary arrests, prolonged detention without charge, and intimidation of released protesters, some of whom were warned not to post protest content online.
It also highlights the use of hooded, masked officers despite a High Court order banning such attire during protests. KNCHR documented 82 cases of abductions or enforced disappearances since June 2024, with 29 individuals still missing.
The report accuses Kenyan police and prison officials of torturing detainees using beatings, painful restraints, and electric shocks, noting a culture of impunity where officers face little accountability. Some police allegedly resisted investigations and used transfers to evade scrutiny.
Washington further points to cases of transnational repression, including the July 2024 arrest and forced return to Uganda of 37 Ugandan opposition members from Kisumu, and the November abduction of veteran politician Kizza Besigye from Nairobi to Kampala.
Media freedoms also came under strain, with the Media Council of Kenya documenting 24 cases of violence and harassment against journalists during the protests, including live on-air assaults. Reports of self-censorship grew amid government threats.
Beyond protest-related abuses, the U.S. cites poor enforcement of labour rights, unsafe workplaces, child marriage, and the persistence of female genital mutilation in some areas.
While the Kenyan government has taken steps to punish rights violators, the U.S. warns that impunity “remains a problem at all levels.”