The United States has expressed deep concern over reports of arbitrary and unlawful killings by Kenyan security forces in 2024, highlighting what it describes as a troubling decline in human rights across the country.

The U.S. Department of State, in its 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, pointed to the Kenyan government and its agents for allegedly carrying out extrajudicial killings, particularly during youth-led demonstrations in June and July against proposed tax increases.

The report draws on findings from major human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, which accused police of excessive and unlawful use of force, resulting in deaths from tear gas suffocation, blunt force trauma, and live gunfire.

“The government-mandated Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) recorded 60 deaths during the protests. In September, the Interior Ministry’s Cabinet Secretary told a parliamentary committee that 42 persons lost their lives,” the report noted.

Investigations into the handling of the protests were launched by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), the state agency responsible for probing police misconduct.

IPOA reported 50 deaths and 199 injuries linked to the demonstrations. The authority also criticised unconventional policing methods, such as deploying hooded and masked officers in civilian clothing, concealing name tags and rank insignia, and using unmarked vehicles, practices it said undermined accountability.

Despite releasing a preliminary monitoring report in early September, IPOA had not made any official findings public by the end of the year, the U.S. report observed.

Civil society and rights groups have also expressed concern that authorities underreported the actual number of deaths, especially in informal urban settlements where documentation was difficult.

Allegations were made that medical personnel and police faced pressure not to record deaths resulting from the crackdown.

“The government took steps to identify and punish officials who committed human rights abuses, but impunity was a problem at all levels of government,” the report added, pointing to persistent gaps in accountability despite official measures.