Kenya: two protesters die from gunshot wounds and several injured during protests – live | Kenya
Two protesters die from gunshot wounds
Two protesters died from gunshot wounds and at least eight were injured in a town outside Nairobi on Wednesday as demonstrators marked one year since mass anti-government protests in Kenya, a hospital official told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Julius Makau, administrator at a hospital in Matuu, around 100 kilometres (65 miles) from the capital, said:
One had abdominal gunshot wounds and died from excessive bleeding. We got an alert of another gunshot victim at another hospital but on arrival we found that the patient had already succumbed
It was not immediately clear how the victims sustained the gunshots wounds. The Nation newspaper reported police had opened fire.
Protesters were marching to mark a year since the peak of demonstrations over the economy that saw at least 60 people killed by security forces.
Makau said his hospital had received six people with gunshot wounds and three with other injuries, leading to one death.
One patient was in critical condition, while the rest were stable, he said.
In Nairobi, demonstrators engaged in running battles with police, who appeared to use primarily tear gas and rubber bullets as they sought to control the crowd.
Key events
Here are some of the latest pictures coming through to us on the wires of the protests in Nairobi:
A demonstrator jumps over burning tires during a protest in the central business district in Nairobi, Kenya, on Wednesday, 25 June 2025. Photograph: EPAProtestors run as police use a water cannon during a demonstration in Nairobi on Wednesday. Photograph: Monicah Mwangi/ReutersA police officer wounded during protests in Nairobi on Wednesday. Photograph: Brian Inganga/APSmoke rises as protestors participate in a demonstration in Nairobi on Wednesday. Photograph: Thomas Mukoya/Reuters
Two protesters die from gunshot wounds
Two protesters died from gunshot wounds and at least eight were injured in a town outside Nairobi on Wednesday as demonstrators marked one year since mass anti-government protests in Kenya, a hospital official told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Julius Makau, administrator at a hospital in Matuu, around 100 kilometres (65 miles) from the capital, said:
One had abdominal gunshot wounds and died from excessive bleeding. We got an alert of another gunshot victim at another hospital but on arrival we found that the patient had already succumbed
It was not immediately clear how the victims sustained the gunshots wounds. The Nation newspaper reported police had opened fire.
Protesters were marching to mark a year since the peak of demonstrations over the economy that saw at least 60 people killed by security forces.
Makau said his hospital had received six people with gunshot wounds and three with other injuries, leading to one death.
One patient was in critical condition, while the rest were stable, he said.
In Nairobi, demonstrators engaged in running battles with police, who appeared to use primarily tear gas and rubber bullets as they sought to control the crowd.
My colleagues Carlos Mureithi and Caroline Kimeu reported on the initial protests outside the Kenyan parliament on this day last year.
The day saw chaotic scenes in which police started shooting after teargas and water cannon failed to disperse a crowd of thousands who had overwhelmed officers. Flames could be seen coming from inside the building.
You can read their original story here: Kenyan police open fire on protesters as crowd tries to storm parliament
Lawmakers leave parliament buildings
Carlos Mureithi
Lawmakers have left parliament buildings in Nairobi as protests intensify in the capital.
A large group of protesters is marching along Thika Road, a key highway in Nairobi, towards the capital as police retreat from the road.
Summary of the day so far
Several developments have come to light regarding the protests in Nairobi, Kenya, today.
At least 10 casualties from protests have arrived at Kenyatta national hospital in Nairobi during protests to mark the first anniversary of the historic storming of parliament by protesters. The demonstrations last year saw at least 60 people being killed and many more disappearing.
All television and radio stations in Kenya have been asked to stop their coverage of the protests marking the first anniversary of last year’s finance bill protests. Communications authority of Kenya (CA) director general David Mugonyi said in a letter to the stations that the transmissions were illegal, with continued coverage risking “regulatory action”.
Most Kenyan media appears to be continuing with live coverage of today’s protests despite the order from the government to suspend such coverage. The Standard Group, which runs TV, radio and a newspaper, said in a statement on X that it was an attempted “news blackout” and that it would continue broadcasting.
Parliament and the president’s office in Nairobi were barricaded on Wednesday ahead of the protests. There was a heavy police presence and the roads leading to parliament were barricaded with razor wire, as was president William Ruto’s statehouse office. During last year’s protests, demonstrators stormed parliament, burning part of the building as lawmakers fled. Bodies lay in the streets, and medical workers and watchdogs said police had opened fire. The military was also deployed.
The protests last year came as a response to a series of proposed tax increases which included hikes on sanitary towels, digital content, car ownership, and basics like oil and bread while many in the country were already grappling with a cost of living crisis.
Media continue coverage despite government order
Most Kenyan media appears to be continuing with live coverage of today’s protests despite the order from the government to suspend such coverage.
The Standard Group, which runs TV, radio and a newspaper, said in a statement on X that it was an attempted “news blackout” and that it would continue broadcasting.
The group said:
We are consulting our lawyers to establish the legality of this order, which aims to plunge the country into a news blackout.
Meanwhile, we will continue broadcasting in the public interest until the legal position is confirmed.
It said it had information that the communications authority had “ordered signal carriers to deplatform any media house doing live broadcasts”.
The Standard Group said “similar threats” were made at the height of the 2024 protests.
Amnesty International condemned the ban, saying “silencing the press is not the solution”.
Pictures from Nairobi show teargas being used by police on protesters:
Protesters scatter as police fire teargas at them during a demonstration on the one-year anniversary of deadly anti-tax demonstrations in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Photograph: Brian Inganga/AP
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports signs of violence at the protests in the capital, with some protesters throwing rocks.
A man suspected of being a plain-clothed officer was manhandled by the crowd. Last year, unidentified police were seen shooting protesters during protests.
Alex Mukasa, a 28-year-old activist, said:
We are never violent, it’s the police and the hired goons they bring. When they start teargassing, they bring out the violence.
Local media on Wednesday published the names and photos of some of those who died during last year’s protests, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
The headline in a major newspaper, The Standard, read “A luta Continua,” which means “The struggle continues” in Portuguese and was the slogan of rebels during Mozambique’s struggle for independence from colonial rule.
Political analyst Herman Manyora called the protesters “heroes” who paid the ultimate price and should be remembered.
“The authorities should work with the demonstrators to ensure a good commemoration,” he said.
Manyora, however, warned that the protesters remain unhappy with the authorities because the “government has been intransigent and has hardened the resolve of the young people to keep fighting.”
During last year’s protests, president Willian Ruto dissolved the Cabinet that had been accused of incompetence and corruption but maintained most of his previous ministers in his new Cabinet despite concerns.
A finance bill proposing high taxes that had been passed by parliament was withdrawn, but later in the year, more taxes were introduced through legislative amendments.
The protests have now spread to other major Kenyan cities including Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and Nyahururu, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
Citizen TV Kenya also reports protests taking place in Eldoret, Kakamega, Narok, Busia, Makueni, Nyeri, Laikipia, Nyandarua, Machakos, Homa Bay, and Kirinyaga counties.
Kenyan government orders halt to live broadcasts of protests
All television and radio stations in Kenya have been asked to stop their coverage of the protests marking the first anniversary of last year’s finance bill protests, Citizen TV Kenya reports.
Communications authority of Kenya (CA) director general David Mugonyi said in a letter to the stations that the transmissions were illegal, with continued coverage risking “regulatory action”.
The live coverage of the June 25th, 2025 demonstrations are contrary to Articles 33(2) and 34(1) of the Constitution of Kenya and Section 461 of the Kenya Information and Communications Act, 1998.
This is therefore to direct all television and radio stations to stop any live coverage of the demonstrations forthwith. Failure to abide by this directive will result in regulatory action as stipulated in the Kenya Information and Communications Act, 1998.
