NAIROBI, KENYA — A BBC investigation has identified members of Kenya’s security forces responsible for fatally shooting anti-tax protesters at the nation’s parliament in June of last year.
The BBC’s in-depth analysis of over 5,000 images further reveals that those killed during the demonstration were unarmed and posed no apparent threat.
Kenya’s constitution guarantees its citizens the right to peaceful assembly, making the deaths a flashpoint for widespread public outrage.
Despite a parliamentary committee’s directive for the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to conduct a thorough investigation into the deaths that occurred on the streets of Nairobi, including those near parliament, and to publicly release its findings, no report concerning the killings at the parliament building has been issued to date, and no individual has been held accountable.
The BBC World Service team meticulously examined videos and photographs captured by both protesters and journalists on the day of the incident. Utilizing camera metadata, livestream timestamps, and visible public clocks within the shots, the team was able to accurately determine the timeline of events.
Employing a 3D reconstruction of Kenya’s parliament, the BBC plotted the locations of three of the fatalities, enabling them to trace the trajectory of the fatal shots back to the specific rifles of a police officer and a soldier.
The following is BBC Africa Eye’s detailed chronological account of the events that unfolded on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, as Kenyan Members of Parliament convened to cast the final vote on the government’s controversial finance bill, while a significant number of protesters gathered on the streets outside.
Young Kenyans, largely organized through social media and identifying as “Gen Z protesters,” began converging on central Nairobi in the early hours of the morning. This marked the capital’s third large-scale demonstration since the finance bill was first introduced on May 9th.
“It was a beautiful party,” recalled prominent human rights activist Boniface Mwangi, who was present at the protest. “Kids came out with Bluetooth speakers and their water. It was a carnival.”
Earlier protests during the week had already prompted lawmakers to withdraw proposed tax increases on essential goods such as bread, cooking oil, mobile money, and motor vehicles, as well as an eco levy that would have increased the cost of items like nappies and sanitary towels.
However, other measures aimed at raising the $2.7 billion (£2 billion) the government stated was necessary to reduce its reliance on external borrowing, including higher import taxes and a levy on specialized hospitals, remained part of the bill.
“For the first time it was the Kenyan people – the working class and the middle class and the lower class – against the ruling class,” Mwangi observed.
The protesters’ primary objective was parliament, the location of the final vote on the contentious bill. By 09:30 local time, the last of the Members of Parliament had entered the lower house. Outside, thousands of protesters advanced towards Parliament Road from the east, north, and west of the city.
“For me, it was just a normal day,” stated Ademba Allans, a 26-year-old student journalist who was covering the events. He noted that individuals were livestreaming on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, while national television channels broadcast the unfolding events live.
Initially, protesters were met with roadblocks and dispersed using tear gas and truncheons. Subsequently, police deployed water cannons and rubber bullets. By 13:00, the number of protesters on the streets had swelled to over 100,000.
“The numbers start getting bigger and people actually start getting arrested,” Allans recounted. “The police are everywhere. They’re trying to push people back. People are even climbing on top of those water cannons.”
Despite the escalating chaos outside, Members of Parliament remained inside the chamber, and the voting process commenced. By 14:00, protesters had pushed the police back to the north-eastern perimeter of parliament.
Inside the parliament building at 14:14, the Finance Bill 2024 was passed with 195 votes in favor and 106 against. Opposition Members of Parliament staged a walkout, and news of the bill’s passage quickly reached the demonstrators outside.
“This is when everybody is saying: ‘Whatever happens, we are going to enter the parliament and show the MPs that we believe in what we’re fighting for,'” Allans explained. At 14:20, protesters successfully breached the police blockade and reached the road adjacent to parliament.
An abandoned police truck stationed outside the parliament gates was set ablaze. Fences were torn down, and protesters entered parliamentary grounds. However, this incursion was brief, as parliamentary security forces swiftly cleared the area.
Simultaneously, police officers moved back up Parliament Road in force to drive the protesters further away. Throughout these events, journalists were actively filming, providing minute-by-minute coverage from various perspectives.
One of these videos captured a plain-clothes police officer shouting “uaa!”, the Swahili word for “kill”. Moments later, a police officer knelt, gunshots were heard, and protesters in the crowd collapsed – a total of seven individuals.
David Chege, a 39-year-old software engineer and Sunday school teacher, and Ericsson Mutisya, a 25-year-old butcher, were fatally shot. Five other men sustained injuries, with one left paralyzed from the waist down.
Footage shows Allans, the student journalist, holding up a Kenyan flag as he attempted to reach Chege and another casualty who was bleeding profusely after the gunfire.
The crucial question remained: who fired those shots?
In the video of the officer shouting, “uaa!”, the shooter’s back was facing the camera. However, the BBC meticulously compared his body armor, riot shield, and headgear with that of every police officer present at the scene. In this particular officer’s case, he had an upturned neck guard.
The BBC matched this distinctive uniform detail to an officer captured in a video recorded seconds later. In that subsequent footage, the officer was seen deliberately concealing his face before firing into the crowd. His name remains unknown.
Even after the fatal shots were fired, the plain-clothes officer was still audible, urging his colleagues forward to “kill”. He was less cautious about concealing his identity; his name is John Kaboi. Multiple sources have confirmed to the BBC that he is based at the Central Nairobi Police Station.
The BBC presented its findings and allegations to the Kenya Police Service, which responded that the force could not investigate itself, stating that the IPOA was the responsible body for investigating alleged misconduct. John Kaboi has been approached for comment but has not responded.
To date, no one has been held accountable for the deaths of David Chege or Ericsson Mutisya. The BBC’s investigation confirmed that neither of the deceased individuals was armed.
Tragically, Chege and Mutisya would not be the only lives lost that day. Instead of deterring the demonstrators, the killings appeared to galvanize them, leading to a renewed attempt to enter parliament.
At 14:57, protesters successfully breached the parliamentary grounds once more. Footage shows them dismantling fences and walking across the area. Many held their hands up, while others carried placards or the Kenyan flag.
Warning shots were fired, causing the demonstrators to duck for cover before continuing towards the building, recording on their mobile phones as they advanced.
Once inside the parliament building, the situation devolved into chaos. Doors were forcibly opened, parts of the complex were set on fire, and the remaining Members of Parliament fled the premises.
The destruction was significant, but after approximately five minutes, footage showed the protesters leaving the same way they had entered.
At 15:04, more gunshots rang out, and protesters fell across the flattened fence. As the smoke cleared, camera footage revealed three bodies lying on the ground. Two individuals were wounded, with one raising a hand but unable to get up.
The third fatality was 27-year-old finance student Eric Shieni, who was shot in the head from behind as he was leaving the parliamentary grounds. The BBC’s investigation, consistent with the cases of Chege and Mutisya, found that Shieni was also unarmed.
BBC Africa Eye analyzed over 150 images taken in the minutes leading up to and immediately following Shieni’s shooting. This analysis enabled the identification of the soldier who fired the fatal shot into the back of Shieni’s head from a distance of 25 meters (82 feet). The soldier’s name remains unknown.
Full BBC Africa Eye Documentary
“The video is very clear,” stated Faith Odhiambo, president of the Law Society of Kenya. “The aim was to kill those protesters. They could have had him arrested. But the fact that you shoot his head – it was clearly an intention to kill. You have become the judge, the jury and the sentence executioner for Eric.”
The Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) informed the BBC that the IPOA had not forwarded any request to investigate any of its personnel involved in the operations at parliament. The KDF added, “The KDF remains fully committed to upholding the rule of law and continues to operate strictly within its constitutional mandate.”
Following the shootings, student journalist Allans is seen again, leading the evacuation efforts, carrying a man with a severely bleeding leg. “I feared for my life, that my parents would never see me again,” he recounted. “But I also feared to let other people die when I could help.”
As the sun set on June 25th, the nation was in shock. After a week of widespread protests, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reported that 39 people had died and 361 had sustained injuries across the country.
That evening, President William Ruto thanked his security officers for their “defence of the nation’s sovereignty” against “organised criminals” who had “hijacked” the protests.
The following day, the controversial finance bill was dropped. “Listening keenly to the people of Kenya, who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this Finance Bill 2024, I concede,” the president announced in a national televised address, adding that he would not sign it into law.
However, to this day, no security officer has been held accountable for the deaths of the protesters, and no official investigation report has been made public.
