Kenya’s president orders police to shoot mostly youth-led protesters in the leg, amid looting and property damage

Kenya (RA) - The unrest, part of the “Saba Saba” demonstrations—named after the historic July 7, 1990, protests against one-party rule—also saw 532 arrests and two reported abductions.

Despite the deadly police response, public anger remains high. The protests have increasingly ended in widespread looting and destruction, targeting both public infrastructure and private businesses.

On Tuesday, President William Ruto came under fire after labeling anti-government protesters as “terrorists” and directing police to shoot demonstrators in the leg to incapacitate them.

“Anyone caught burning or damaging property should be shot in the leg, taken to the hospital, and later arraigned in court. Do not kill them, but ensure they are immobile,” Ruto said.

The remarks have sparked widespread condemnation from opposition leaders and human rights organizations, who accused the president of endorsing excessive force and undermining civil liberties amid growing unrest.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has called for accountability by the Kenyan government. He said, "Let's stop the killings and other alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law, including concerns about the use of force, to be promptly, thoroughly, independently, and transparently investigated."

The protests, driven largely by Kenya’s youth, erupted in June 2024 in response to a proposed finance bill that sought to impose new taxes. Mobilizing independently of political parties and labor unions, young demonstrators organized en masse through social media platforms, signaling a new era of digitally coordinated, grassroots activism.

The Kenyan police have also been called out for brutality and extrajudicial killing. The recent death of Kenyan blogger Albert Ojwang in police custody drew a lot of condemnation from the public and rights groups.