Report: 97 people were killed extra-judicially in 2025

At least 97 people have been killed in 2025 through extra-judicial executions, a report by the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) shows. The new report released yesterday while marking the International Human Rights Day documented patterns of excessive force, arbitrary arrests and widespread impunity.

The findings paint a worrying picture of State’s conduct in a year dominated by protests, political discontent and security operations marked by deadly force. According to the report, IMLU verified 97 cases of extrajudicial executions, many occurring during demonstrations or in police-led operations, while 18 additional deaths happened in police custody.

The organisation noted that forensic documentation including autopsies, ballistics analysis and expert reviews revealed that several victims were shot from behind, an indication that they were fleeing rather than posing danger. “If you are shot from the back, you are honestly not attacking. You are not at risk to the person who is shooting you at that point,” said Grace Wangechi, the executive director of IMLU.

She further explained, “The Public Order Management Act is clear: When managing protests, the escalation of force only allows the use of lethal or even non-lethal weapons when you or somebody else is at risk of death or serious injury. When you are running away, you are not a risk to anybody.”

“To us, that shows a lack of accountability, but also an interference with international standards for managing public order.”

The report detailed other national patterns of rights violations between January and December 2025. This includes 72 cases of torture or ill-treatment, 49 protest-related injuries, 1,500 arbitrary arrests, and five enforced disappearances.

Wangechi clarified that the 49 injuries do not represent the total number of people hurt during demonstrations, but only those severely injured and hospitalised, whose cases were medically supported and verified by IMLU. Many required repeated surgeries. The report cited key events such as the June 9, June 25, and Saba Saba protests, where lethal and non-lethal force was used in ways IMLU described as militarised policing.

“Use of both lethal and non-lethal weapons during peaceful demonstrations reflected widespread use of live ammunition,” the report stated.

Beyond police violence, IMLU noted growing restrictions on media freedom, digital rights and civil liberties. “Today we recognise the efforts, commitment and courage to tell the story as it is, our dear partners, the media. You let the world know the ills and hopes of our country,” noted IMLU.

The report also documented cross-border operations targeting dissenting voices. Cases cited included the forced deportations of Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi, Ugandan Martin Mavenjina and the abductions of Kenyan activists Bob Njagi, Boniface Mwangi, Nicholas Oyoo and others.

“Cross-border abductions and forced deportations point to coordinated efforts to silence civic activism. The deportation of foreign and regional human rights defenders illustrates a growing pattern of cross-border intimidation targeting those who speak out against state excesses,” the report noted. IMLU also stated disturbing cases of torture of minors, including that of 17-year-old Felix Senet Takona, a student who was allegedly brutalised while in custody at Naroosura Police Station and later found with severe injuries, including burn wounds on his legs.

Wangechi explained that IMLU’s numbers do not always match those of other civil society groups, not because of discrepancies, but because IMLU relies on strict medico-legal verification.

“We are very strong on medical, legal and forensic documentation. The numbers we give you; Injuries and extrajudicial killings, are verified through scientific methodology.

“So when you ask how we assess that someone was running when shot, it is because of the bullet trajectory, the entry and exit wounds,” she said.