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Heavy Security Response and Gang Violence Shadow Kenya’s Saba Saba Protests

Human rights organizations demand transparent investigations into recent fatalities after gunmen stormed the national human rights commission.

Un policier kényan déplace des pneus bloquant un axe routier, le 7 juillet 2025 à Nairobi.

Overview

  • On July 7, security forces in Nairobi and other cities deployed tear gas, water cannons and stun grenades to disperse anti-government demonstrators.
  • The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights documented at least ten deaths, 29 injuries and two abductions during Saba Saba rallies across 17 counties.
  • Armed gangs known locally as “goons” operated alongside police, including a July 6 assault on KNCHR headquarters that targeted a press briefing.
  • All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi again served as a refuge, sheltering thousands seeking safety from state-backed violence during the protests.
  • Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the United Nations have called on President Ruto’s government to carry out independent, transparent probes into the killings and assaults.