Police also reported damage to twelve police vehicles, three government cars, and four civilian vehicles, in addition to several incidents of looting.
The National Police Service (NPS) has confirmed eleven deaths, 567 arrests, and dozens of injuries during Monday’s Saba Saba protests amid condemnation over excessing use of force.
Among those arrested is Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji, whose detention was announced in an official police statement released Monday night.
The update paints a grim picture of widespread unrest, even as civil rights groups accuse the police of using excessive force and ignoring court orders.
According to the NPS, fifty-two police officers and eleven civilians sustained injuries during violent clashes in several parts of the country.
Police also reported damage to twelve police vehicles, three government cars, and four civilian vehicles, in addition to several incidents of looting.
“Certain individuals remained determined to engage in acts of lawlessness that involved multiple criminal acts, including attacks on law enforcement officers and looting,” Police Spokesperson Muchangi Nyaga said.
KNCHR denounces police conduct
While the police praised their officers for showing “exceptional restraint and professionalism,” the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) issued a damning parallel report, accusing officers of using lethal force and operating in defiance of court orders.
As of 6:30pm Monday, KNCHR had documented ten fatalities, twenty-nine injuries, two abductions, and thirty-seven arrests across seventeen counties.
The Commission reported that victims were shot in areas including Kitengela, Rongai, Kangemi, Embu, and Ol Kalou—many by plainclothes officers in unmarked Subaru vehicles.
“The deployment of hooded, unidentifiable individuals in civilian clothing was in blatant violation of existing court orders,” KNCHR stated.
Disturbingly, the Commission also flagged the presence of criminal gangs operating with crude weapons in several protest zones—some reportedly working alongside police.
Murkomen under fire
The deadly confrontations come amid mounting pressure on Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, who was recently caught on video ordering police to shoot protesters if they approached stations or appeared threatening.
“This is an order from above, not just from me,” Murkomen is heard saying in the viral video.
The remarks have sparked outrage among human rights groups and opposition leaders, with a High Court petition already filed seeking his removal from office for incitement and endangering civilian lives.
The latest incidents bring the total number of protest-related deaths to at least thirty-nine over a period of three weeks, according to human rights monitors.
More than sixty were killed during similar demonstrations in 2024 before the Finance Bill was withdrawn.
Rights groups have also reported numerous cases of enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and torture with human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists increasingly becoming targets of state harassment.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) reported an attack on its Nairobi office on Sunday, where staff were assaulted and journalists robbed by hired goons.
National conclave
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who had planned to lead a commemorative rally at Kamukunji Grounds, cancelled the event citing heavy police presence.
Speaking at Serena Hotel, Odinga condemned the state’s use of force and warned of creeping authoritarianism.
“What was meant to be a peaceful day of national reflection turned into a day of fear. This government is using force to silence its own citizens,” Odinga, who is part of a “broad-based” governing alliance, said.
He proposed an urgent Inter-Generational National Conclave to chart reforms, address youth unemployment, promote accountability, and restore civic freedoms.
“The people are hungry, the youth are angry, and the leadership is absent. We must act now,” he added.
KNCHR called on the government to respect civil liberties, cease its assault on civic space, and allow peaceful protests to proceed without intimidation.
“We urge authorities to comply with court orders and uphold the Constitution. No amount of force can suppress a generation’s demand for dignity and justice,” the Commission said. By
