109 police abuse cases in 2024 linked to Gen Z protests
The report released on Wednesday shows that most victims were youth.
Out of 159 cases of police-related killings and enforced disappearances documented in 2024, 109 happened during the June to August Gen Z protests, according to a report by Missing Voices.
The report released on Wednesday shows that most victims were youth, with enforced disappearances rising sharply over the past year.
Missing Voices recorded 104 incidents of extrajudicial killings and 55 cases of enforced disappearances in 2024.
This marked a 24% increase in total cases compared to 2023, when 128 cases were documented.
The coalition noted that enforced disappearances jumped from 10 in 2023 to 55 in 2024, an increase of 450%, the highest figure ever recorded by the group.
"2024 marked the year that the coalition recorded the highest number of cases of enforced disappearances," the report stated.
Previously, the highest number had been 38 in 2019.
While enforced disappearances surged, police killings dropped slightly from 118 in 2023 to 104 in 2024.
However, the data still points to a heavy toll during the mid-year protests, when police operations turned deadly.
June alone recorded 38 killings, followed by 11 in July and 9 in August.
That three-month period accounted for more than half of all police killings in the year.
Nairobi was the worst-affected county, with 38 killings, followed by Kiambu with 9, Migori with 6, while Kakamega and Nakuru each had 5.
Makueni and Uasin Gishu counties each recorded 4 killings.
Young men bore the greatest risk, with 91% of extrajudicial killing victims being male.
A total of 79 youths aged between 18 and 34 were killed, while 18 were adults above that age.
Seven were minors under 18.
Most of those who disappeared had neither been charged nor given a chance to prove their innocence.
"They have not received justice or compensation by the time of the report," Missing Voices noted.
The 104 verified killings did not include 50 unidentified, bullet-ridden bodies booked into the City Mortuary on July 25.
Though the bodies were reported at the peak of the protests, Missing Voices could not independently confirm if they were linked to police operations.
Still, the organisation included them in the report due to the suspicious circumstances surrounding the deaths.
Missing Voices also documented two deaths in police custody, which the police claimed were suicides.
Despite the rising numbers, very few cases have led to accountability.
"Less than 2% of police related EJKs are in court," the report observed.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) recorded 60 cases arising from the protests, but only two have reached the courts.
This followed public pressure after the release of the BBC documentary “Blood Parliament.”