The Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights, KNCHR, has reported that 19 people were killed and 15 others are missing following nationwide protests on Wednesday, held to mark the anniversary of a deadly crackdown on anti-tax demonstrations.
The protests, which erupted across Kenya, turned violent as thousands of demonstrators clashed with police, resulting in widespread destruction and chaos.
According to KNCHR, a government agency, 531 people were injured and 179 were arrested.
“The Commission strongly condemns all human rights violations and urges accountability from all responsible parties,” KNCHR stated.
The latest death toll marks an increase from the earlier figure of 16, while the 15 missing persons were described as victims of “enforced disappearances.”
Human Rights Watch, the United Nations, also reacted to the development. Otsieno Namwaya, associate Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said, “Kenyan authorities should not treat protesters as criminals.”
The United Nations condemned the violence, calling for calm and restraint.
In a related development, the Kenyan government condemned the looting of a national fertiliser depot in Meru, about 200 kilometres east of Nairobi. The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed that more than 7,354 bags of fertiliser, worth an estimated $230,000, were stolen.
“Fertiliser was looted, fertiliser meant to sustain farmers through this planting season,” the ministry said, calling the theft “a direct assault on Kenya’s food security.”
The ministry added, “Its loss threatens to trigger a catastrophic crisis for both food crop and cash crop production.”
Mutahi Kagwe, Agriculture Minister, described the incident as unacceptable and called for the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators.
Agriculture contributes approximately 21 percent to Kenya’s economy, making the looted fertiliser a critical loss amid the planting season.
