How police maimed and killed Gen Z protesters

When Rex Masai was gunned down on June 20, last year, the outrage, determination, and resistance surged with renewed force.

His killing by police marked a watershed moment for the Gen Z movement, a turning point that stirred deep emotions and ignited even greater resolve among protesters.

Rex, 29, was the first confirmed casualty of police brutality which revealed itself in renewed fashion during the Gen Z push.

But he was not just another victim. His death became a powerful symbol of the danger that came with simply speaking out.

As grief turned into defiance, the crowds in the streets swelled. What began as a campaign against taxation evolved into a broader, more urgent struggle for justice, dignity, and the fundamental right to be heard.

June 2024, Kenya witnessed a major civic and political shift, and for the first time in decades, a generation that had often been dismissed as apolitical or disengaged used its voice, tools, and digital networks to send a powerful, urgent message to the authorities: “Listen to us”.

The young people, popularly known as Generation Z or Gen-Z took to the streets in nationwide protests to challenge a raft of new taxes proposed in the controversial Finance Bill 2024.

The bill had proposed steep taxes on essential goods such as bread, menstrual health products, fuel, motor vehicles, mobile and bank transfers, and internet data. 

It also targeted digital incomes, an area where many young Kenyans had found economic opportunity and independence. 

And to the once-dismissed generation, it was more than just another tax proposal; it was a threat to their future, a cruel reminder of the economic inequality and systemic neglect they had long endured.

The anti-government protests began on June 18, 2024, in Nairobi, before spreading like wildfire across the country. 

What began as peaceful demonstrations fueled by frustration over rising costs of living, inequality, unemployment, and persistent police brutality, quickly escalated. 

Despite initial restraint from protestors, they were met with increasing force from the state. 

Security agencies responded with tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets, and eventually live ammunition, and Rex was the first protester to pay the ultimate price. He was shot and bled to death.

The protests reached a peak on June 25, when demonstrators breached the security cordon and stormed Parliament.

What followed was a harrowing period of violence, trauma, and loss. In response, police and military forces opened fire, killed and injured dozens of protestors.

Police picked young people from the streets during daytime and from their homes at night, bundled them in police vehicles. Some were killed while others never returned home.

Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCRH) report on State of Human Rights Report 2023/24 indicated that 62 people were killed and more 610 sustained injuries.

The injuries ranged from deep fractures, bullet wounds, soft tissue injuries, and inhalation of tear gas. Some 1,376 were arrested arbitrarily from June 18 to November 2024.

About 74 young people were forcibly disappeared. While some were later released after pressure from rights groups, courts and the international community, some families may never get answers or accountability for the kin who went missing without a trace.

“Most of the injuries were inflicted by the security officers against the protestors. The commission documented 25 injuries inflicted on security officers by the protestors,” said KNCHR vice chairperson Raymond Nyeris during the release of the report.

Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) led by Davis Malombe and Wangechi Kahuria termed the events of June 2024 as the “darkest chapter” marked by the regime’s violent suppression of the Gen-Z protests.

“In Kenya, the police have consistently mirrored the character of the ruling regime: Rogue governments produce rogue policing,” the reads their joint statement.

The human rights groups stated that 2024 witnessed a unified demand for fundamental freedoms and human dignity.

“The youth led this charge and boldly challenged the status quo online and in physical spaces.”

“In response, the police unleashed unprecedented violence: abductions, mass killings, arbitrary arrests, deployment of more lethal crowd-control weapons, and intimidation of the media and human rights organizations—all carried out with impunity and disregard for court orders,” they said.

Police brutality

But the police brutality did not stop with the protestors. Innocent people who did not participate in protests were caught in the chaos.

One heart-wrenching case was that of 12-year–old Kennedy Onyango, a young boy who was shot eight times during anti-tax protests in Rongai.

A preteen, a talented young fine artist who was set to study fine arts in the US was killed like a terrorist.

His only mistake was being at the wrong place at the wrong time. His mother, Jocinter Anyango said Onyango had left the house that fateful day to pick up a book he was sharing with a neighbouring classmate to do homework.

He neither reached at his friend’s home, nor did he return home. He was killed in cold blood. A chilling reminder of excessive use of force by police as the protests took an ugly turn, in the night riddled with violence and gunfire. 

A mother was shuttered. Her hope for her son’s future was crashed. Life would never be the same again.

“My boy was not a criminal; he was not protesting. He had not stolen anything from anyone, why would eight bullets be sprayed on such a 12-year-old?” Anyango wondered.

What was more frustrating and paining is President William Ruto’s comment in a joint television interview days later. Ruto did not know that Kennedy had died.

“The boy is still alive?” Ruto posed while responding to journalists’ questions probing the killing of the innocent boy by police.  

A promise made by the head of state that Onyango’s killer(s) would be brought to book was never been fulfilled.

“On the 12-year-old shot with eight bullets, I am telling the mother of this young person that as president, I will make sure that I give her an explanation of what really happened.” President Ruto said. 

“I will make sure that we bring this to a situation where, like myself who has children, her child can be accounted for,” President Ruto promised claiming that the Rongai protests were infiltrated by goons.

He also stated that investigations into the incident will reveal whether the 12-year-old boy was shot by police or by the goons.

Abductions

More disturbing are the cases of enforced disappearances. A year later, some families are still haunted by silence and unanswered questions. Mothers crying over their missing sons who may never come home.

Despite these grave violations, official responses have been slow, contradictory, and, in many cases, dismissive.

Further deepening public frustration is the unfulfilled promise of justice. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Broad-Based Brothers, President Ruto, and opposition leader Raila Odinga had pledged support and compensation for victims and their families.

A year later, not a single family has received compensation, and none of the perpetrators of violence has been held accountable.

Vocal Africa CEO Hussein Khalid said justice is not a mere slogan but a journey that starts with acknowledgement of the killings, correction of the narrative branding the youths as criminals, accountability by responsible officers and compensation of the families and victims.

“Some parents lost not only their children but their livelihoods while seeking justice,” said.

The Law Society of Kenya advocated for compensation for victims who were injured, maimed, or killed during the protests

For Houghton Irungu, Executive Director of Amnesty International Kenya, the events of June 25 last year and the weeks that followed remain a stark reminder of a country grappling with a backslide in human rights.

Drawing comparisons to the pro-democracy Saba Saba protests of 1990, Irungu noted with alarm that police violence has not only persisted in Kenya but worsened.

“We saw almost twice as many deaths last year compared to 1991. For a modern state, that is an indictment,” he observed

“In 1990, approximately 1,000 protesters were arrested. In 2024, that number more than doubled, with about 2,500 people detained, many arbitrarily and without due process. We must ask ourselves, why is it that human rights are receding rather than increasing with the new constitution?” Irungu posed.

The continued trend of tortures and killing of young people by police has also condemned by human rights organisations and international community.