Amnesty International has warned Kenya's National Police Service against using excessive force during expected protests on Tuesday, April 21. The alert comes amid public anger over recent fuel price hikes announced by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA). The group urged Inspector General Douglas Kanja to protect demonstrators.
Amnesty International issued a statement on Monday evening, reminding police officers of every person's constitutional right under Article 37 to assemble, demonstrate, picket, and present petitions peacefully and unarmed.
"The Police bear a primary responsibility for collectively facilitating and protecting this right, not for suppressing it. The purpose of protest notifications is to coordinate public safety, not to request permission," Amnesty stated.
The group referenced past protests where it documented excessive force, arbitrary arrests, harassment of journalists, and obstruction of medical personnel. It warned that individual officers and commanders could face personal and criminal liability for human rights violations.
Recent court rulings emphasized that firearms may only be used when strictly unavoidable to protect life, and treating protests as battlefields is impermissible in a constitutional democracy.
The protests stem from EPRA's announcement a week ago of fuel prices at KSh 206.97 per litre for petrol and KSh 206.84 for diesel. These were later revised downward to KSh 197.60 and KSh 196.63 after President William Ruto directed a VAT cut to 8 percent, but many Kenyans still view the hikes as too steep, fueling online calls on platform X for street action.
