UN Human Rights body troubled by Saba Saba killings, calls for calm and restraint
A protester jumps for safety as she emerges from a narrow alley while Kenya police officers strike her with whips and clubs during clashes in downtown Nairobi on June 25, 2025 during a planned day of protest marking the first anniversary of the storming of the parliament. Marches in Kenya to mark a year since massive anti-government demos turned violent on Wednesday, with two killed and running battles between protesters and police, who flooded Nairobi's streets with tear gas and sealed off government buildings with barbed wire. (Photo by Luis TATO / AFP)
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In a statement on Tuesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk condemned the human rights abuse in Kenya, offering to support Kenya in addressing the challenges and in the investigations.
“We are deeply troubled by the killings yesterday of at least 10 people, as well as looting and destruction of property in Kenya as police and other security forces responded to violent protests in the capital Nairobi and at least 16 other counties. Lethal ammunition, rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannons were used,” said the OHCHR through its spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani.
Türk has called for calm, restraint, and full respect for the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly.
“It is essential that legitimate grievances at the root of these protests are addressed,” he said.
The High Commissioner also urged that all killings and violations of human rights
“to be promptly, thoroughly, independently and transparently investigated.”
During the July 7, 2025 protests, police reported that 11 civilians were killed and 567 arrests made. Also, the National Police Service (NPS) said 52 officers and 11 civilians were injured, 12 police vehicles, 3 government vehicles and 4 civilian vehicles damaged.
“Under international human rights law, intentional lethal force by law enforcement officers, including with firearms, should only be used when strictly necessary to protect life from an imminent threat,” added Türk.
The protests witnessed on Saba Saba day came barely a fortnight after 15 civilians were killed on June 25. Then, Kenyans protested in commemoration of the killing of over 60 people during widespread anti-tax demonstrations in June 2024.
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