16 people have died during nationwide anti-government protests in Kenya.
Most of the victims were killed by the police, the head of Amnesty Kenya said on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
The protests come a year after deadly demonstrations against a tax bill culminated in the storming of parliament.
Thousands of Kenyans took to the streets on Wednesday to commemorate last year’s demonstrations, in which more than 60 people died, with police firing tear gas and water cannons to disperse them in the capital Nairobi.
Some protesters clashed with police, and 16 people were “verified dead as of 8:30”, Amnesty Kenya’s executive director Irungu Houghton told Reuters.
Houghton added that the figures were verified by the global rights watchdog and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).
“Most were killed by police,” Houghton said, adding that at least five of the victims had been shot dead.
The government-funded KNCHR earlier said eight deaths had been reported across the country, all “allegedly from gunshot wounds”.
“Over 400 casualties have been reported, including demonstrators, police officers and journalists,” KNCHR said in a statement shared on its official X account.
The watchdog noted heavy police deployment and “allegations of excessive use of force, including rubber bullets, live ammunition and water cannons, resulting in numerous injuries”.
Kenyan police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga declined to comment on the statements by Amnesty Kenya or KNCHR.
State-funded body Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) said in a statement that 61 people were arrested during the protests.
An official at the capital’s main Kenyatta National Hospital said the facility had received dozens of wounded people.
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