IPOA: Full Report On Fatalities, Injuries During June-July Protests
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) reports that 65 people were killed during the June and July protests.
The IPOA has also accused the National Police Service (NPS) of treating the protests as riots and using excessive force to deal with them.
The IPOA’s report comes as one Bungoma County family criticizes the authority for what they call a slow pace of investigations, which has delayed their kin’s release.
The family is preparing to bury their son, a final-year student at Thika Technical Training Institute who was shot during the June 25th Gen-Z anniversary protests.
Nearly a month after being shot during protests commemorating the one-year anniversary of the 2024 anti-government protests, Victor Otieno’s family, friends, and colleagues retrieved his remains for burial.
The late Victor was shot in Juja, but his family has had to wait a long time for permission to bury him. They blame IPOA for the glacial pace of justice.
“We went to IPOA and gave our statements. From there, they told me they’d need me again. They said they are still gathering evidence, which means police have yet to submit a report,” said Patrick Oduor, Victor’s father.
“We have not yet gotten the post-mortem report from the police because they are telling us that IPOA has not approved it. They are taking us in circles.”
IPOA monitoring report on police response to public protests -June and July, 2025 1/6 #GuardingPublicInterestInPolicing #IPOAMonitoring #PoliceAccountability pic.twitter.com/sLVNulWtBy
— IPOA (@IPOA_KE) July 24, 2025
According to the autopsy report, the late died of a single gunshot wound to the head.
The autopsy is one of 61 that the IPOA claims to have attended following deaths in four protests from June to July of this year, according to a report released on Thursday.
According to the report, 65 people died as a result of protests ranging from those conducted to demand accountability for the murder of teacher Albert Ojwang in police custody to those held on the June 25th anniversary and Saba Saba.
According to the oversight committee, one person was killed at the Albert Ojwang death protests, and 23 died during the June 25th anti-Finance Bill memorial protests.
However, the majority of the deaths occurred during the Saba Saba protests, when 41 people have been killed so far. The deaths were dispersed throughout 18 counties.
The IPOA death toll mirrors the Interior Ministry’s data, but differs from those provided by the KNCHR, another state agency, which puts the number of Saba Saba fatalities at more than 60.
The IPOA report accuses the police of violating the law by deploying uniformed and non-uniformed policemen who neglected to wear name tags or service ranks during the Albert Ojwang murder protests.
It also criticizes the police for classifying constitutionally permissible protests as riots and handling them accordingly.
IPOA claims that the police were unprofessional, used excessive force on protestors, and failed to maintain public safety and order, particularly during the June 25th protests.
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The police are also accused of failing to intervene in counter-protests that appeared to support the government and of obscuring vehicle number plates.
Meanwhile, commanders are accused of hiding their rank insignia and name tags during the protests.
The IPOA now wants the Inspector General of Police to, among other things, ensure that the police respect and preserve the right to peaceful protest.
Furthermore, he should ensure that all police officers and assets are properly identified during protests.
IPOA said that police should utilize full-body cameras during protests to ensure evidence-based prosecution of anyone found to have used excessive force in dealing with protestors.
IPOA: Full Report On Fatalities, Injuries During June-July Protests
