Overview

• At least 31 people were killed on July 7 during Saba Saba Day demonstrations, marking the highest single-day death toll since unrest began in mid-2024
• Security forces detained more than 500 demonstrators across 16 counties, with reports of arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances
• Police deployed live ammunition, rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannons and plainclothes officers to disperse youth-led protests against economic hardship and corruption
• President William Ruto directed officers to shoot violent protesters in the leg to incapacitate them, declaring attacks on police or property a declaration of war
• Rights groups including the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights are demanding prompt, transparent investigations into all reported killings, injuries and arrests by security forces