39 killed in Kenya anti-tax protests: rights body

NAIROBI: A total of 39 people have been killed in anti-government protests in Kenya that erupted last month over planned tax hikes, the national rights watchdog said Monday, a tally double what the government has admitted so far.

The updated toll was announced by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights on the eve of an expected new round of demonstrations led mostly by Gen-Z activists against the government of President William Ruto.

“Data from our records indicates that 39 people have died and three hundred and sixty-one injured in relation to the protests countrywide,” the state-funded body said in a statement, adding that the figures covered the period from June 18 to July 1.

“The Commission continues to condemn in the strongest terms possible the unwarranted violence and force that was inflicted on protesters, medical personnel, lawyers, journalists and on safe spaces such as churches, medical emergency centres and ambulances,” it said.