Two years after Kenya's "Gen Z" protests culminated in demonstrators breaching parliament, the families of those who died say they are still waiting for justice — and the official accounting suggests why.
A day that shook the country
On June 25, 2024, thousands of mostly young Kenyans pushed past police lines in Nairobi and entered the parliament building, in the most dramatic moment of a youth-led movement against the Finance Bill 2024 and its proposed tax increases. Organized largely online and without a single party at its head, the protests drew a heavy security response. Security forces opened fire, and the death toll mounted.
Estimates of the toll vary by source and should be attributed rather than treated as settled. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights put the number killed across the protests at around 60 or more; the police watchdog, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), has said it is investigating dozens of deaths linked to the demonstrations. Rights groups also documented hundreds of injuries and a number of enforced disappearances.
President William Ruto declined to sign the bill in the days that followed, and it was withdrawn — a notable concession. He later reshuffled his government. But for many families, the political response did not answer the central question: who was responsible for the killings, and would anyone be held to account?
Why so few cases have advanced
The accountability picture remains thin. Of the dozens of protest-related deaths it is investigating, IPOA has said only three cases have so far reached court, The Standard reported, with others forwarded to prosecutors, some closed, and many still under investigation.
The authority has pointed to practical bottlenecks, including delays in forensic and ballistic analysis carried out by other state institutions, and noted that the decision to bring charges ultimately rests with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions — meaning a completed investigation does not guarantee a prosecution.
Families left waiting
For relatives, the slow pace compounds the loss. Al Jazeera reported the account of a father whose son was detained by police and later found dead, and who has seen no accountability two years on: "Does participating in public demonstrations or expressing yourself warrant death? I don't think so," he said. Other families continue to search for relatives who disappeared during the unrest.
The government has established a compensation program for verified victims, which rights groups have cautiously welcomed while arguing that payments do not substitute for criminal accountability.
Rights groups press for answers
Human rights organizations say the protest deaths fit a wider pattern. Human Rights Watch has urged the government to hold security forces to account and to ensure they operate within the law, and other groups have called for an independent judicial inquiry into the deaths and disappearances.
The government's position
The Ruto administration points to the compensation scheme and to IPOA's continuing investigations as evidence it is taking the matter seriously, and has framed the period since 2024 as one of reform and dialogue, including bringing opposition figures into government. It has not set a public timeline for completing the remaining investigations or committed to charging specific officers.
On the anniversary, commemorations were held in Nairobi. For those who gathered, the question was less whether the 2024 protests were justified than whether the state would ever fully account for the lives lost.
