Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof. Kithure Kindiki stated that only 25 people lost their lives during the anti-Finance Bill and anti-government protests. Speaking on Citizen TV’s The Tonight Show on Thursday night, Kindiki dismissed human rights organizations’ reports that more than 40 people died and over 600 were injured during the protests.
He revealed that only 400 people were injured, including 43 police officers, contradicting claims of the alleged Githurai massacre, where scores of people were reportedly injured.
“The people who have died out of these protests are 25 and nearly 400 people were injured including 43 police officers. I have heard of other figures including the ones you are quoting, but I also had heard about a massacre in Githurai from other sources which turned out not to be true so I don’t want to cast aspersions at anybody but we have lost 25 people,” he stated.
Kindiki, who expressed the government’s commitment to investigating the deaths, clarified that the majority of the 25 people killed were shot, while the rest died from injuries sustained during beatings.
He stated that the government had since launched an investigation into the killings, and that those found responsible would be prosecuted.
“Many of them died out of gunshot wounds but others died out of blunt objects and trauma caused by beatings and assault and I want to assure the people of Kenyan that of every single person who died, we will account for each of them,” he said.
“We have an account of each and every death, the manner in which they died. Many of them died of gunshot wounds and we have activated ballistic and accosting units of the DCI, the Crime Research and the Intelligence Bureau to help us account for the source of ammunition that killed the people of Kenya but also the circumstances they were killed.”
Despite acknowledging that some police officers used excessive violence, the CS defended the officers’ actions, noting that the law allows police to use lethal force in certain circumstances as part of their law enforcement mandate.
Kindi claimed that if the officers’ or the people’s lives are threatened, the law allows them to take such measures.
“Law enforcers are allowed to use lethal force but only in very exceptional circumstances where their own lives or the lives of people are in grave danger,” he said.
According to the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), 43 people were killed during the demonstrations, and over 600 were injured.
