Jacinta Anyango had one request outside Kenya’s parliament on Thursday. “All I want is for the government to bring the officers responsible for killing our children before us and let them apologise,” she told the BBC. Her son Kennedy was 12 when he was killed in 2024 in clashes on the outskirts of Nairobi.
She stood with other families on the second anniversary of the protests. They had come to lay flowers and wreaths, but authorities had ringed parliament with barbed wire, so the flowers went on the wire instead. Police arrested 355 protesters across the country and blocked key roads in Nairobi, the BBC reported. Turnout in the capital was low compared with 2024 and with last year’s anniversary demonstrations.
Caroline Mutisya came to honour her son Erickson, who was killed 50 metres (54 yards) from the parliament buildings. The heavy police presence got in the way. “I do not feel safe enough to express myself,” she said.
Opposition leaders Kalonzo Musyoka, Martha Karua and Eugene Wamalwa walked with the families and a small number of activists to parliament. In Mombasa, hundreds of young protesters in black marched under escort, draped in Kenyan flags and carrying banners that demanded justice and an end to extra-judicial killings. Central Nairobi sat deserted after security forces sealed access, stranding commuters on the outskirts. Many businesses and schools stayed shut. In pockets of the capital police fired tear gas, demonstrators threw stones, and officers on horseback broke up crowds. Footage from a local TV station showed flames and smoke over Githurai, near Nairobi.
Deputy police chief Gilbert Masengeli said the roadblocks were there to keep criminals and weapons out of the capital. He said the country had stayed calm.
What happened in 2024
In June 2024, tens of thousands of Kenyans protested proposed tax increases. Protesters stormed parliament, and the finance bill was later withdrawn. Security forces were accused of using excessive force, and a BBC investigation found that police had deliberately tried to kill protesters. Dozens of people were reportedly abducted in the days that followed, allegedly by members of the security forces. Some were found badly beaten. Others were found dead.
Counts of the dead differ. Official and rights group tallies cited by Al Jazeera put the toll at 62. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reported at least 63 deaths, 610 injuries and 74 enforced disappearances over the 2024 protest period, with 26 people still missing. Amnesty International said at least 60 people were killed and pointed to the use of live ammunition. Some of those who called for this year’s protests spoke of more than 80 dead. The Human Rights Watch World Report 2026 said 26 people linked to the 2024 protests and 15 linked to 2025 demonstrations remain missing.
The family of Rex Masai, the first casualty of the June 2024 protests, who died after being shot by police, has accused the government of being insensitive to families whose relatives were killed or maimed, The Standard reported.
Few cases have reached court
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) said in a June 22 statement that only three of the 62 deaths have reached court. Three more have gone to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) for review. One is under internal legal review, four were closed after internal investigations and five were closed on ODPP directions. The other 46 are still under investigation.
IPOA Vice Chairperson Anne Wanjiku Mwangi told The Star that a case’s progress to court “depends on the sufficiency of evidence and the outcome of prosecutorial review”. Some cases may be closed if they fall short of legal thresholds, she said, and others need more investigative work. Demas Kiprono, executive director of ICJ Kenya, said investigations and prosecutions of “rogue officers” remain “severely bottlenecked by operational, procedural and judicial challenges.”
Families say money is not the point
Last week President William Ruto announced a fund of nearly $15m (£11m) to compensate nearly 2,000 victims of protest-related abuses between 2017 and 2025. He said it was not a “price for life, pain or loss” and should not be read as rewarding violence or criminality. Human rights organisations rejected the plan, citing the exclusion of some victims, inadequate pay-outs and a lack of transparency. Al Jazeera described a first phase covering 348 verified victims, with $3.46m allocated. Families of 115 people killed would receive $23,148 each.
James Otieno, whose son Denzel Omondi, 23, went missing days after joining the #OccupyParliament protests, told Al Jazeera the money does not answer his question. “Even if you gave me 20 million, it won’t be enough compensation for the life of my son. What we want is accountability,” he said.
Susan Wangari Wanjohi has searched for two years for her son Emmanuel Kamau Mukuria, 24, who disappeared on June 25, 2024 after being arrested at Imenti House in Nairobi. “There is no prison I have not visited in this country while looking for my child,” she told Al Jazeera.
Anyango, outside parliament, turned to the politics. “Who does the president expect to vote for him next year if he continues killing us like this?” she asked.
Sources
- Two years on, Kenyan families still seek justice after Gen Z protests
- Kenya 25 June protest: Families lay flowers on barbed wire barricade
- Too little too late, say parents of youth killed in 2024 protests
