Six Detained Kenyan Protesters Found Injured After Disappearance During Memorial March
Six Kenyan protesters arrested during a memorial march in Nairobi on Thursday were found injured and abandoned in different parts of the city on Saturday, according to the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC). The protesters had been incommunicado since their arrest, with rights groups demanding their release.
The memorial march marked the second anniversary of the 2024 'Gen Z' uprising, which saw widespread protests against police killings. About 355 people were arrested nationwide, Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen confirmed. Many appeared in court on Friday, but the six arrested near Parliament remained unaccounted for.
On Saturday morning, five of the six were discovered dumped in various Nairobi locations, while one remains missing. The KHRC reported that the individuals 'report being brutally assaulted by police while in custody.' They were taken to hospital with injuries.
Kenya has a history of police brutality and enforced disappearances. During the protests in June-July 2024 and a similar period in 2025, at least 127 people were killed by security forces, according to a police watchdog, with near-total impunity.
Authorities sealed off major roads and deployed heavy security for the memorial march, which was attended by families of those killed in 2024, activists, and politicians. The march proceeded under tight security, but the arrests and subsequent discovery of the injured protesters have raised concerns about ongoing human rights violations.
