By Samuel Ouma
The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) is now demanding the immediate prosecution of police and military officers implicated in the killing of Gen Z protesters, following explosive revelations in the BBC documentary #BloodParliament.
The documentary, released this week, revealed that the three youths shot dead by police and a Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) officer inside Parliament on June 25, 2024, had not committed any crime. They had entered Parliament grounds in a peaceful show of no confidence against President William Ruto’s administration during the height of the Gen Z-led anti-government protests.
“They were not the ‘organized criminals’ Ruto alleged they were. It is Ruto’s regime that sent organized criminals in police and military uniforms to murder innocent Kenyans,” KHRC stated.
The BBC documentary identified one of the officers involved as John Kaboi, a member of the KDF. Another officer from the National Police Service was also implicated. KHRC insists that both officers, along with others being investigated for extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances during the 2024 youth protests, must be brought to justice.
“The responsibility rests with Ruto, who must be held accountable for these deaths,” the rights body declared, accusing the government of deliberately criminalizing peaceful dissent.
KHRC said the killings were part of a coordinated campaign of repression targeting Kenya’s youth, who had mobilized under the Gen Z banner to protest corruption, inequality, and poor governance.
The June 25 massacre at Parliament was a turning point in the Gen Z protests, which had spread nationwide in response to rising economic hardship and perceived state arrogance. The BBC’s documentary has now provided irrefutable evidence that the victims were not criminals but young citizens trying to hold their leaders accountable.
