President Ruto Acknowledges Protest Casualties, Denies Extra-Judicial Killings- 6 Deaths, 14 Injuries
President William Ruto has announced that a total of six people lost their lives during the anti-Finance Bill 2024 protests, contrary to reports that more than 20 people have been confirmed dead.
Addressing the press outside the Statehouse on Wednesday, the president said that 214 people had been injured, with 95 already treated and released from different hospitals.
He said that only one person was in ICU and that 14 were still in hospitals.
“Six young people yesterday lost their lives, which is very unfortunate; they shouldn’t have lost their lives. I wish that would not have happened,” he said.
Human rights organizations and other International bodies had however released conflicting figures with the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) disclosing that 23 people were fatally shot during the protests and more than 300 people were injured.
KHRC also noted that most of the killings occurred on Tuesday night, pointing out that officers opened fire at protesters in Githurai.
“As of yesterday evening, the Police Reforms Working Group (PRWG) recorded 23 deaths caused by police shootings nationwide. There were over 50 arrests, 22 abductions, and over 300 injuries. Reports reaching us also indicate that police opened fire and killed several people in Githurai, Nairobi, last night,” KHRC stated on Wednesday.
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According to a report by Amnesty International on Tuesday, 13 people were shot with live bullets, four with rubber bullets, and 3 sustained injuries after being hit with teargas canisters.
As a result, over 31 people were injured and five people were shot dead on Tuesday.
In his speech, the president also denied recently reported cases of abductions, reiterating that his administration was still committed to ensuring that there were no extra-judicial killings in the country.
He allayed concerns of incommunicado arrests saying that anyone arrested during protests was detained at police stations, adding that those who died would be accounted for.
“There is a framework to make sure those people who died yesterday there will be accounted for,” he said.
“I did promise the country that there will be no extra-judicial killing going forward; and ever since I came into office, there is not one incident of extra-judicial killing…What you said about abductions are statements attributed to our civil society groups. But all the people they mentioned have since been found in police custody and those that were already processed were already released.”
President Ruto Acknowledges Protest Casualties, Denies Extra-Judicial Killings- 6 Deaths, 14 Injuries
