A new Freedom Index analysis by Odipo Dev and Amnesty International Kenya examining police responses to protests between 2020 and 2025 shows tear gas canisters were the most frequently used crowd-control weapon during the period.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The report, based on data drawn from 1,002 protests recorded across the country over the five-year span, comes amid strikes led by the transport sector over high fuel prices, which on May 18 and 19 resulted in deaths and injuries, with some attributed to police intervention.

“The Kenya Freedom Index comes at a critical moment. This week, 17 Kenyans were killed in Nairobi (4), Naivasha (4), Kiambu (3), Busia (3), Thika (2) and Nakuru (1) as Kenyans took to the streets over soaring fuel prices,” said VOCAL Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid.

According to the findings outlined in the index, tear gas canisters were used 230 times in efforts to disperse demonstrators.

📌 What You Need to Know

The second most frequently documented weapon was live bullets, which were recorded 87 times during protest-related incidents. Water cannons were used in 67 incidents, while rubber bullets were deployed in 55 cases.

Batons were used in 39 recorded instances, with stones also reported in 14 protest-related cases. The analysis further shows that unspecified bullets were recorded 10 times.

“Teargas is the most consistently deployed tool. Live ammunition appears with a frequency that exceeds what any proportionality standard should permit. Batons and physical force are used routinely, often in situations where the protest itself had been peaceful,” the report explains.

Additionally, the Freedom Index documented the human impact of protest-related policing during the period under review.

“The data matters because weapons choices have consequences. Teargas used in enclosed spaces, or fired at close range, causes serious injury. Live rounds kill people . Water cannons at full pressure break bones. Every weapon deployed at a protest is a decision by an officer, authorised by a command structure,” the report stated.

Between 2020 and 2025, the report records 159 deaths linked to protests. A further 1,245 injuries were documented, alongside 2,603 arrests over the same period.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke