Broken promises: How Ruto's regime faces accusations of rising extrajudicial killings

President William Ruto strode to power on a platform of zero tolerance to extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, ills he often accused his boss, Uhuru Kenyatta, of perfecting.

But three years down the line, his administration has neither done any better. Several families across the country are pained, either having lost their loved ones through police brutality or are unable to trace the whereabouts of their missing relatives.

In the eyes of human rights groups and defenders, Dr Ruto’s regime has scored poorly on the Bill of Rights as enshrined in the Constitution.

That, his Kenya Kwanza administration has consistently abused the right to life; right to privacy; freedom of association; freedom of expression and the media; right to assembly, demonstration, picketing, and petition; protection of the right to property, among other fundamental rights.

“Under the current regime, we had the highest number of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture never witnessed in the country’s history,” stated Peter Kiama, Executive Director, Haki Yetu Organization.

In his view, President Ruto has little regard for the Constitution and has weakened statutory oversight institutions mandated to protect rights and freedoms.

Further, Dr Ruto has failed to respect the rights and freedoms of citizens, take legal action against those who abuse rights, and put in place mechanisms that protect human rights. “Based on the three parameters, I will rate him as having performed dismally,” asserted Kiama.

He accused police of violating Article 244 of the Constitution, which requires them to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and discipline; prevent corruption; comply with human rights standards; be respectful of human rights; and foster positive relationships with communities.

Hussein Khalid, Executive Director, Vocal Africa, echoed Kiama while accusing the Kenya Kwanza government of sanctioning extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

“Dr Ruto has had the worst human rights record in the history of Kenya. If you look at the statistics, the country is in a much worse situation. For example, extrajudicial killings tripled in 2024 compared to 2023. Never in the history of Kenya have we had cases triple those of the previous year,” said Khalid.

For Jonah Kariuki, the father of Boniface Mwangi, the 23-year-old hawker who was shot by a police officer on the streets of the capital city, the loss of his son marked the turning point in his life and perception of the Kenya Kwanza administration.

Alive to the fact that he will never replace Mwangi, the small-scale trader is now left nursing regrets for his choice of presidency at the ballot box in 2022.

“I withstood pressure from my friends who were against Kenya Kwanza, woke up at 4 a.m. and went to cast my vote in favour of President Ruto. In return, they (government) repaid me by taking my son in the most brutal way; even if I forgive them, I won’t forget the tragic incident,” Kariuki told The Standard.

Mwangi was shot by an anti-riot police officer on June 17, 2025, as Kenyans demonstrated over the death of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang’, who had died in police custody. The hawker died days later at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) where he had been admitted.

Police Constable Klinzy Barasa has since been charged with Mwangi’s murder, while his colleague Duncan Kiprono was set free.

In the run-up to the 2022 elections, Dr Ruto, then serving as the Deputy President in the Jubilee government, never tired of assuring his supporters in a convincing tone that such incidents would cease once he ascended to power.

“Kenya Kwanza will end political weaponisation of state institutions. We want these institutions to operate independently as is expected of them by the Constitution,” said Ruto on June 30, 2022.

He went on to accuse then Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai, blaming the police boss for not being in charge.

“We have the most incompetent Inspector-General of Police, I think in the world, the most incompetent in the whole world,” he stated.

But a string of well-coordinated and systematic extrajudicial killings, cases of enforced disappearances, and gross violations of human rights highlight Dr Ruto’s unkept campaign promises.

Reports compiled by the state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) show that slightly over three years, more than 100 Kenyans have been shot dead – a worrying pattern for a regime that vowed in broad daylight to respect and protect human dignity.

“The security situation had deteriorated. We saw people’s bodies discovered dumped in the Yala River after being killed indiscriminately. We want to tell these guys (opposition) that they cannot prevent us from transforming this country,” said President Ruto on October 16, 2022, during an interdenominational prayer service at Kericho Green Stadium in Kericho County.

Just a month into office, Dr Ruto promised that the Kenya Kwanza government was breaking away from the tendencies of the Jubilee administration whose reign was characterised by “intimidation and fear-mongering”, as he announced the disbandment of the Special Service Unit (SSU) that was blamed for mysterious killings.

“I have ordered the disbandment of the SSU unit of the police that was arbitrarily executing Kenyans. That is the history we want to forget. Let our competitors not remind us of the many things they did against this country,” he said.

According to Amnesty International Kenya Executive Director Irungu Houghton, despite 2022 campaign promises, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances have accelerated under the Kenya Kwanza administration, and Kenyans have experienced violent policing of protests every year since Dr Ruto’s administration assumed office.

“This pattern exposes the continued use of lethal force and a failure to hold police accountable. In just four protests between June 12, 17, 25 and July 7, police killed an average of three people and injured 21 others every day over those two months. This injustice must be reversed. Officers must be held accountable in a court of law. The failure to course-correct police violence breeds impunity and future violence,” stated Irungu.

The Amnesty boss expressed concern that the state continues to deny the reality of extrajudicial killings, despite years of evidence from his organisation, other human rights groups, and the media.

He pointed an accusing finger at individual officers, specialised police units, and the National Police Service command while being critical of the deliberate underfunding of oversight bodies like KNCHR, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).

“By failing to politically champion police reforms, ensure robust funding and publicly condemn human rights violations, the Executive fails in its primary constitutional duty to protect the right to life,” emphasised Irungu.

He challenged security agencies under the guidance of the National Security Council to stick to the basics of Article 244 of the Constitution, arguing that their mandate is not to terrorise, intimidate, or kill the citizens they are sworn to protect.

“Law enforcement agencies must shift their approach to public order management, crime prevention, and counterterrorism to models that place the preservation of life, human dignity and human rights at the centre,” added Irungu.

Though independent human rights groups have given varying numbers of those killed and missing, KNCHR recorded 60 cases of extrajudicial killings and 71 cases of abductions and enforced disappearances between July 2023 and November 2024.

In its recommendations, the Commission called on the Inspector-General to expedite investigations into extrajudicial killings and bring the perpetrators to book. Further, it challenged IPOA to investigate and recommend charges for officers accused of extrajudicial killings.

“Article 29 of the Constitution gives an assurance of every person’s right not to be subjected to any form of violence from either public or private sources, or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The Commission regrets the resurgence of cases of abductions and enforced disappearances allegedly committed by members of the National Police Service and National Intelligence Service,” stated KNCHR in its report released last November titled State of Human Rights in Kenya: Assessing the Progress Made and Areas of Concern.

The Commission documented a total of 74 incidents of abductions and enforced disappearances from November 2023 to November 2024, with the majority related to the anti-Finance Bill 2024. At the time of release of the report, 26 persons were still missing.

“The Commission remains concerned that despite an abundance of evidence captured on the abductions including vehicle number plates, video and photographs, the National Police Service has not made any formal statement on these abduction incidents and no prosecutions have been undertaken thus far,” noted KNCHR.

On June 25, 2025, at least 16 demonstrators were shot dead during nationwide anti-government protests, according to figures released by the state-funded watchdog, which recorded more than 400 injuries, among them police officers quelling the violence.

This was after Kenyans across the country took to the streets to commemorate last year’s demonstrations against the Finance Bill 2024.

A month later, KNCHR recorded 31 deaths and 107 injuries resulting from the Saba Saba anniversary protests on July 7. The Commission had documented two cases of enforced disappearances and 532 arrests.

This brings to 107 the number of Kenyans killed, ostensibly by security agents between 2023 and 2025 – a figure that is causing rising concern among civil society, especially human rights activists and defenders.

Following the rampant killings, arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances, many Kenyans now live in fear, looking over their shoulders and being cautious about what they post or share on social media platforms.

Defenders Coalition says that although Kenya’s track record has, unfortunately, been underwhelming across all regimes that have been in power since the 2010 Constitution was enacted, the Mwai Kibaki administration should be credited not just for the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution but also for putting in place an institutional and operational framework for its implementation.

“The Kenya Kwanza regime promised good governance, justice and rule of law, separation of powers, police independence, social protection and advancing gender and economic rights. Sadly, the current regime has overseen an onslaught on the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and Chapter Four of the Constitution,” observed Kamau Ngugi, Executive Director, Defenders Coalition.

Citing cases by the Missing Voices Coalition, which documented 187 cases of police killings and 32 enforced disappearances in 2012, 130 cases of police killings and 22 enforced disappearances in 2022, 118 police killings and 105 police killings in 2023, and 55 enforced disappearances in 2024, Kamau says the pattern is worrying.

“In 2024 and 2025 we saw a disturbingly sharp increase in state violence through its security agencies on the right to life. Additionally, we have too many cases of disappeared people and too many cases of bodies that remain unidentified, pointing to a serious gap in the documentation of disappeared persons, thus the inability to access justice and closure for victims,” stated Kamau.

He maintains that patterns that have been documented on extrajudicial killings are consistent with the excesses associated with security agencies and police abuse of power, arguing that the majority of killings during protests last year and this year had the hallmark of attacks by state agents.

“Individual officers and the command structure must remain committed to the supreme law. They must partner with the UN and human rights advocacy groups to provide training and international guidelines on policing that mainstream human rights. However, this must be facilitated by strong accountability safeguards to hold violators to account and institutional independence from overreach by the Executive and other private actors,” added Kamau.

The verdict by human rights groups and defenders is a harsh indictment of the Kenya Kwanza government. Yet, in another signal that extrajudicial killings will never happen under his watch, Dr Ruto hinted at the decision that informed his dismissal of then Directorate of Criminal Investigations chief George Kinoti.

“How did Kenyans end up being killed in this manner and then it was business as usual? Thirty bodies in Yala, 17 in Tana River, and a container here in Nairobi Area where people were being slaughtered in a police station; what kind of a rogue institution? And that is why I fired that Kinoti man,” said President Ruto on January 4, 2023.